A play by written and created by Amanda Langberg
Underground 106
New York City
November 5th - 15th 2026
Matronym is a sensous play that summons and celebrates our female ancestors
Matronym follows three sisters who come together after their grandmother’s death to create a ritual honoring their female ancestors. The sisters’ surname, Eigilsen, is a product of an old Danish naming tradition based on the paternal lineage. To challenge this patriarchal tradition, they decide that their ritual will culminate in changing their surname to a matronym, based on one particular foremother. There is just one problem: they don’t know her name. And so the search begins.
Armed with a collection of family heirlooms and diaries, they stumble across stories of disempowerment, pain, liberation and joy as they summon the voices of their foremothers. Drawing connections to their own lives, the sisters try to understand how their foremothers’ legacy has shaped their place in the world. But throughout the search, it becomes evident that each sister has her own agenda for the ritual, and a central conflict is born: Do they themselves want to carry their lineage forward?
Written and created by:
Amanda Langberg
Cast:
Amanda Langberg as Suz Eigilsen
Sophie Isbell as Flora Eigilsen
Lainey Mackinnon as Edith Eigilsen
Visuals and original music:
Osvald Landmark Rasmussen
Producer:
Lainey Mackinnon
Ligthing design:
Shua Jackson
Understudy:
Sophie Rundhaug
Poster photo:
Dylan Redshaw
Underground 106
36 West 106 St, New York City
Performances:
November 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 at 8pm
November 8 & 15 at 3pm
A special event with talkback and ritual will follow
the performance on the 8th.
Running time:
85 minuttes
(No intermission)
Production support for Matronym was provided, in part, by The New Stage Theatre Company's New Work Program (Artistic Director, Ildiko Nemeth), with residency and rehearsal space at The New Stage Performance Space.
Matronym originally premiered at Teater FÅR302 in Copenhagen in 2023.
Press:
Press release:
Access press release and images here
Request more info or press images amanda.l.hermansen@gmail.com
Follow Matronym on Instagram
Article on BroadwayWorld
Read here
Article on TheaterMania
Read here