The Yellow Wallpaper, September 4 - 20, 2026
Trinity Street Playhouse
A locked room. A journal. And a "rest cure" that demands a woman surrender her art, her autonomy, and her mind. The year is 1889, and a young wife is trapped in a secluded mansion under the strict control of her physician husband. But when the room's tattered wallpaper begins to shift and whisper, the cure becomes far more terrifying than the illness. Rooted in Gilman's own harrowing postpartum experience, The Archive Theatre brings Gilman's classic Gothic horror story to life. Adapted by Jeff Davis, The Yellow Wallpaper is an incredible new play about control, dependence, and the fight to survive.
Join us for some classic Gothic horror as we bring Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s The Yellow Wallpaper to life. This psychologically riveting, semi-autobiographical story is based on Charlotte’s experiences during a difficult period after the birth of her child. Her husband imposed an unproven treatment called “the rest cure” to treat her post-partum depression. Under the supervision of a quack doctor who insisted on the cessation of all Charlotte’s creative and intellectual activity, the treatment ultimately demanded that she give up her opportunities, her art, and ultimately her personal autonomy. Yet that terrible experience which almost destroyed Gilman ultimately resulted in her most famous work: a terrifying short story of what might have been if she had not escaped.
This is a story about the gaslighting, control, and dependence that women endure when men control all aspects of political and economic reality. Our friend Jeff Davis of Ovation Theatricals has adapted the story into an incredible play that speaks to everything that we lose when we devalue other human beings. It's a story that will move you as you realize that we are fighting the same battles in our time that Charlottle fought in hers.
Trigger Warnings: The Yellow Wallpaper contains depictions and discussions of severe mental illness, psychological distress, forced confinement, medical procedures, suicidal ideation, and emotional abuse.
Tickets for "The Yellow Wallpaper" are now on sale.
Industry Night with special discount tickets for Artists on Wednesday, September 9th.
The Yellow Wallpaper Cast and Crew
Written by Charlotte Perkins Gillman
Adapted to the stage by Jeff Davis
Directed by Faith Sanders
Starring Mon Darter and Sadie Okerstrom
Stage Manager - Adriana Fontanez
Assistant Stage Manager - Jennifer Meigs
Producing Artistic Director - Jennifer Rose Davis
Scenic Design by Cody Arn
Lighting Design by Amy Lewis
Costume Design by Jennifer Rose Davis
Sound Design by Victoria Schwartz
Assitant Sound Designer - Stevie Trudell
Props Design by Jennifer Rose Davis and Milo Calvert
Makeup and Special Effects by Amber Wilson
Graphic Design by SJ Anderson
Intimacy Direction by Andrea Grapko
A sneak peek inside the room with TheYellow Wallpaper where John Stetson treats his young wife for "hysteria". What are the ominous figures that haunt her?
Meet the Cast and Crew. These are the people who make the magic happen.
Before it was a story, It was her life. The author Charlotte Perkins Gilman experienced the terrifying events she wrote about in her first marriage.
Charlotte Perkins Gilman became a tireless crusader for women's rights after she experienced the events which inspired "The Yellow Wallpaper."
In the story, a young wife is confined to a room with yellow wallpaper by her husband who is also her doctor and put on a rest cure. Without other intellectual stimulation she begins to see things that are not there... Or are they?
In the 19th century, the treatment of mental health issues was more guesswork than science. Patients were sometimes subjected to experiments in the course of their treatment.