When Seattle audiences step through the carved doors of the Stimson Green Mansion this November, they’re not just attending a play—they’re entering a wake. In The Wake of Annie Grady, writer-director Cassandra Moselle invites them into 1867 Dublin, where grief, myth, and mystery share the same breath.

“I sat down and wrote out a long list of titles for new shows,” Moselle says. “The Wake of Annie Grady was the last or one of the last show names I came up with and almost immediately I could imagine what the story was.”

That flash of intuition became a world steeped in Irish folklore and human loss. July 5, 1867 arrived in her imagination as surely as the title itself. “It was the first thing that came to my mind,” she recalls, “and that was the date I used to set the show in.”

Folklore, grief, and the living dead

Moselle’s relationship with death began early.

“I was never sheltered from death — I went to my first wake at six and watched my grandfather pass when I was thirteen.” For her, Irish myth offered a language for acceptance rather than fear. In Annie Grady, each character embodies a different way of grieving; grief itself becomes the unseen protagonist.

“Grief is the catalyst that brings all of these characters together in the first place.”

A house that breathes history

The historic Stimson Green Mansion isn’t just a venue—it’s a collaborator.

“The creaks in the floor, the two rooms in the basement, the fireplace in the library—all of these details are what really makes this immersive as the audience walks into a home to experience the show.” Three floors host simultaneous scenes; no two spectators see the same performance.

“The audience in the upstairs bedroom will not see what happens in the downstairs billiards room. They have to choose which character to follow.”

Painting in history’s colors

Moselle calls her palette “cholera, Alexandra College, and the Fenian Rising of 1867.” Each element anchors the fantasy in tangible time, melding political upheaval, women’s education, and epidemic fear into a single living mural.

Choose-your-own mourning

Immersive theatre, she says, is “the wild west of art and creating.”

“Two people can go to the same show and witness entirely different story elements because they got to choose their own story.” That agency—born from her childhood love of Choose Your Own Adventure books—turns spectators into mourners with decisions to make.

The quiet between the lines

Sound design becomes another ghost in the room.

“Much like white space on a page, I pay attention to the sound between the lines, or lack of sound… It’s those moments of quiet that help emphasize important moments in this show.”

Physical storytelling

Trained in physical theatre in Italy, Moselle directs with the eye of a dancer.

“During rehearsals I not only listen to what the actor is saying, but I watch their physicality to see what story their body is telling.”

One scene distills the show’s living-and-dead duality:

“Clodagh finally stands before Annie’s body. She says it doesn’t feel like her because Annie was so full of life. And she’s reminded that Annie lives on in her memories.”

The collective grief

Moselle defines success simply:

“If every single audience member felt like they got to be part of the collective grief and community surrounding Annie Grady, I’ll feel like I did my job as a storyteller.”

Seattle’s theatre community, she notes, has embraced immersive work with rare generosity. “They’re incredibly kind, supportive people and it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know them.”

Discover the unexpected allure

After Annie Grady closes, Moselle dives straight into A Muppet Burlesque Christmas Carol—proof that even artists of ghosts and grief know how to find levity.

The Wake of Annie Grady

Presented by: WhatNot Theatrics Venue: Stimson Green Mansion, Seattle Dates: Nov 26, 28, 29 (6:30 PM) & Nov 30 (1:30 PM) Tickets: Stranger Tickets Info: www.cassandramoselle.com | WhatNot Theatrics on Facebook

“Immersive theater feels like it’s the wild west of art and creating,” Moselle says. “It’s an exciting emerging field—one that draws in new audiences who want a unique experience, even if they don’t consider themselves theater people.”