A Conversation with Robert Lyons

On 6 July 2026, TORCHES continues with a conversation with acclaimed playwright Robert Lyons, who ran the award winning Ohio Theatre for thirty-plus years.

Robert Lyons is a playwright who writes dark, satirical comedies, literary adaptations, and experimental performance texts. He has had more than twenty-five New York City premieres, most recently, Class Dismissed (“Exuberantly unhinged!”- New York Times) at La Mama in spring 2025. My Onliness (“A welcome gust of weird!” - New York Times) was invited to the prestigious Sibiu International Theatre Festival in Romania in summer 2025. His performance text,Yovo, has been performed in NYC, Poland, Cuba, and South Korea. Robert’s work has been developed in residencies at Mercury Store, Space at Ryder Farm, NACL, HERE Artist Residency Program, Orchard Project, Playwright’s Center of Minneapolis, MASS MoCA, Bogliasco Foundation, and MacDowell Colony. His work has been featured in American Theatre Magazine, and a collection of his plays, My Onliness and Others, was published by Mercer Street Books. He was also artistic director of the legendary Ohio/New Ohio Theatre (New York City) for thirty plus years.

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