proudly presents
their Spring 2026 Mainstage Production:
The Desire of the Moth for the Star
Written by Deborah Clifton, Flora Coker, & Wes Savick
Directed by Wes Savick
NOTES FROM THE AUTHORS
Margery Kempe (c.1373-c.1440) began dictating her memoirs to a scribe around 1430 with the implicit hope of canonization. Her manuscript passed into oblivion until it was discovered in a country house in Yorkshire in 1934. The Book of Margery Kempe is now the focus of great academic interest as the earliest known autobiography written in English. Margery Kempe was never declared a saint.
The Desire of the Moth for the Star was written by three authors using highly contrasting styles to capture the fluctuating spirit of Margery's life in each act. The intention is to amplify divergent ways to interpret Margery's story, allowing the continuity of narrative and character to link the three acts together. Margery's story is rife with contradictions, ambiguity, and humor. The authors' fascination with the character of Margery Kempe was inspired by an inability to explain, psychologize, or laugh away the mystery of her spiritual quest. She was and remains an unquiet soul.
“The desire of the moth for the star,
Of the night for the morrow,
The devotion to something afar
From the sphere of our sorrow?”
– Percy Bysshe Shelley
Wes Savick, Suffolk University Theatre Department Professor/Director of Student Programming.
The Suffolk University Theatre Department is a student-centered department. Students write, direct, and design their own original plays and intern with leading theatre companies, both at Suffolk’s Modern Theatre and with organizations throughout the United States. Students work in classic, musical, and experimental genres with a special focus on new work.
The Suffolk University Theatre Department’s Mainstage Productions are held twice a year in Suffolk University’s Modern Theatre, located in Boston’s Theater District. These productions feature a contemporary or new play, directed by a Theatre Department faculty member or a guest artist. Theatre Department productions in the Modern are high-profile opportunities for student artists to be seen by the university and larger Boston community.
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April 2 - 5, 2026
- Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30pm
- Saturday and Sunday at 2:00pm
Suffolk University's Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111
Tickets are required. This event is open to the public.
Walk-up tickets will be available to purchase at the Modern Theatre box office on the day of the event, one hour before the event's scheduled start time, subject to availability.
If you have any questions or if you need assistance purchasing tickets, please email boxoffice@suffolk.edu .
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Please see below for important information to note before your visit to the Modern Theatre:
SEATING: This event has General Admission seating. All seats are first-come, first-served.
ARRIVAL: The Modern Theatre lobby and box office will open one hour before the event's scheduled start time. Please arrive at least 15 minutes before the event's scheduled start time to check in at the box office and find a seat.
WAITLIST: If a performance is sold out, you may add your name to the waitlist by checking in at the Modern Theatre box office on the day of the performance. The box office opens one hour before each performance's scheduled start time. All unclaimed tickets will be released to the waitlist 10 minutes before the performance's scheduled start time.
RUNNING LATE? Late seating will be permitted during appropriate breaks in the performance, at the Front of House Manager’s discretion. Please arrive on time, at least 15 minutes before your event's start time.
If you are running late, please call (617) 557-6537 or email boxoffice@suffolk.edu to notify the Modern Theatre staff and ensure your tickets are not released to the waitlist.
PROHIBITED & PERMITTED ITEMS: We encourage you to leave valuables, large bags, and other personal belongings at home. Outside food and beverages are not allowed and need to be consumed in the lobby or disposed of before entering the theatre.
There is no coat or bag check at the theatre, and prohibited items will not be stored onsite by venue management.
Please see below for a complete list of prohibited items:
Outside food and beverages, including restaurant to-go bags
Large bags including backpacks, luggage, and duffle bags
Cameras and tripods
Vapes and e-cigarettes
Bikes, helmets, skateboards, Heelys, rollerblades, and non-mobility aid scooters
Weapons of any type
ACCESSIBILITY: We value inclusion and access for all participants and are pleased to provide reasonable accommodation for all events. Please email boxoffice@suffolk.edu to make a reasonable accommodation request.
The Modern Theatre is wheelchair and mobility aid accessible.
ADA and companion seating is available for all events.
The Modern Theatre has an ADA accessible and gender-neutral restroom.
CONTACT US: Please email boxoffice@suffolk.edu if you have any questions or need assistance reserving tickets.
Thank you to our restaurant sponsor, Back Deck, located at 2 West Street (corner of West and Washington). Backyard grilling downtown and right around the corner! Contact Back Deck: 617-670-0320