Photos: First Look At Madeline Sayet In WHERE WE BELONG At Folger Theatre

See first look photos of Where We Belong, written and performed by Madeline Sayet and directed by Mei Ann Teo. 

In 2015, Mohegan theater-maker Madeline Sayet traveled to England to pursue a PhD in Shakespeare. There, she found a country that refused to acknowledge its ongoing role in colonialism, just as the Brexit vote threatened to further disengage the UK from the wider world. In Where We Belong, an intimate and exhilarating solo piece, Madeline echoes a journey to England braved by Native ancestors in the 1700s following treaty betrayals. The story forces us to consider what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world.

Where We Belong premiered at Shakespeare’s Globe in London in 2019 as part of Border Crossings’ ORIGINS Festival, the UK’s only large-scale multidisciplinary festival of Indigenous arts and culture. In 2021, Madeline adapted the original piece for the digital realm for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company and the Folger Shakespeare Library. 

The play was re-adapted for a live theatrical tour in October 2021 with Baltimore Center Stage and toured across the country. Where We Belong was performed at seven theaters nationwide, including Philadelphia Theatre Company, the Goodman Theatre, Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival, Seattle Repertory Theater, Portland Center Stage, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, and The Public Theater. 

Where We Belong is on stage at Folger Theatre from February 15 through March 10, 2024. Tickets are $20-$84. Discounted preview performances and special rates for patrons under 35, students, seniors, members and family of the military, educators, and groups may be purchased through the Folger Theatre Box Office at (202) 544-7077 or online at www.folger.edu/wwb.

Photo Credit: Erika Nizborski Photography