Hospital 2008

New York runs on water. From the steam system that heats and electrifies the five boroughs, to the water that flows from millions of taps, without it there is no city. Until 1970 two ancient tunnels, both at least 73 years old, were the only conduit. As far underground as the Chrysler Building is tall, teams of "sandhogs" risk their lives digging the path for the new Water Tunnel #3. Every day, far down beneath the feet of all New Yorkers, below the subway and the sewer, the sandhogs live their days in a dangerous, subterranean universe.

HOSPITAL 2008 takes place in the aftermath of a catastrophic collapse of part of this tunnel. Three men are trapped beneath the city streets, in a part of the system that is unrecognizable to them. As they attempt to find their individual ways back to the surface, it becomes clear that something beyond normal comprehension may have occurred deep beneath the capital of the world.

Axis Company presents the 9th installment of its annual HOSPITAL serial. This episodic play examines the interior life of a man in a terminal coma. Entering this state in a different way every year, the audience travels with him as he lives out his last few days roaming the vast, dark interiors of his own brain. Although HOSPITAL 2008 is a serial play, each evening can be viewed separately as a self-contained, short play.

*Actors appear courtesy of Actors' Equity

THANK YOU
Angel Roman, Dept. of Environmental Protection - New York
Bob Diamond, Brooklyn Historic Railway Association

This production is made possible by a generous grant from the Peter Jay Sharp Foundation.

The Producers wish to thank the tdf Costume Collection (NYC) for its assistance in this production.

Purchase: Plays and Playwrights 2009 | An Anthology
Edited by Martin Denton
Featuring "Hospital 2008" by Randy Sharp & Axis Company