"UNRECONCILED will make you laugh, think, cry, and seethe: Theater at its finest." — National Catholic Reporter
"As the show unfurls, Sefton's transformations dazzle, and the pacing of the production is as precisely mapped as the best poetry." — America: The Jesuit Review
"UNRECONCILED is utterly moving and thoughtfully made. Sefton's magical, visceral performance is truly one of the best I have seen on stage or screen for many, many years." — NoHo Arts"Laden with powerful, heart-stopping moments. Told with level-headed composure and a conversational tone that feels controlled and courageous." — British Theatre Guide
NORTHAMPTON, MA — May 26, 2026 — The Unreconciled Project announces a special one-night-only performance of UNRECONCILED, the acclaimed autobiographical solo play written by Jay Sefton and Mark Basquill and performed by Jay Sefton on Saturday, July 25, 2026 at 7:00 PM at the Academy of Music, 274 Main Street, Northampton, Massachusetts. The performance will be followed by a post-show conversation with celebrated trauma expert and bestselling author Bessel van der Kolk (The Body Keeps the Score) and musician and healing arts advocate Licia Sky. The Academy of Music engagement serves as UNRECONCILED's Western Massachusetts homecoming ahead of its New York City premiere at La MaMa ETC in Spring 2027.
Galvanizing audiences nationally and internationally, UNRECONCILED is a solo tour de force of daring to stand up to an institution that wants nothing more than silence.
At thirteen, Jay Sefton dreamed of being an actor and was cast as Jesus in a school play directed by the parish priest, who was later defrocked and named in a grand jury report for the sexual abuse of minors. Incorporating actual VHS footage from the 1985 Passion Play, UNRECONCILED unfolds with unflinching honesty and surprising humor.
Sefton takes audiences on a magic carpet ride through love, bewilderment, and the long arc toward accountability, set against the backdrop of a whiskey-drenched, sports-crazed suburb of Philadelphia, where daily life was punctuated by church bells. The play exposes not just one predator but the wider institutional system that enabled him, and continues to deny justice to survivors.
UNRECONCILED arrives at a moment of urgent public relevance. As Massachusetts lawmakers, advocates, and survivors press for reform of statute of limitations laws for childhood sexual abuse — and as questions remain about the release of a statewide grand jury report — Sefton's work offers audiences a rare combination: a deeply personal reckoning and a call to collective action.
MassLive called UNRECONCILED's debut at Chester Theatre Company "the play to gain Chester Theatre and Sefton well-deserved national attention, whether it goes to Broadway, other regional theaters or to film. It's just that good." The production went on to win the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance and Outstanding World Premiere of a New Play. The play has since toured nationally and internationally, including performances at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival and Dublin's Pavilion Theatre. A documentary about UNRECONCILED’s journey is currently in production. Anthony Edwards (Top Gun, ER) will Executive Produce.
UNRECONCILED sparks powerful conversations among audiences, survivors, and advocates. In conjunction with the July 25 performance at the Academy of Music and post-show discussion with Bessel van der Kolk and Licia Sky, The Unreconciled Project will offer a creative writing workshop and peer support group for survivors and their loved ones on July 26.
"Sefton holds his audience spellbound." — The Enterprise News of Cape Cod
"Sefton is a masterful performer… [an] impactful, stirring, and unforgettable performance." — Pittsburgh Tatler
"Brilliant performance at the Lyric…what a powerful, affecting piece." — Kathy Clugston, BBC Ulster
"Jay Sefton effortlessly plays a dozen characters in his play 'Unreconciled.' His storytelling, his reliving the tale, is simply artistry, extraordinary artistry." — Berkshire Edge
"Sefton is such a gifted performer. He and co-writer Mark Basquill have crafted a marvelous production of the joy of childhood, the horror of sexual abuse, the love of family, and the love of community." — Front Row Center, New York Theatre
POST-SHOW CONVERSATION
\u200bFollowing the performance, Sefton will be joined in conversation by Bessel van der Kolk, MD, psychiatrist, researcher, and author of the landmark work The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma, and by Licia Sky, singer, songwriter, somatic healer, and co-founder of the Trauma Research Foundation. Van der Kolk has long championed the healing power of theater and the arts for trauma survivors, and his presence at the Academy of Music underscores the significance of Unreconciled as both artistic achievement and public health intervention. Mark Basquill, co-writer of UNRECONCILED, will also join the discussion. The conversation will be moderated by Melenie Freedom Flynn, author and Managing Director of the Unreconciled Project.
COMMUNITY PROGRAMMING
\u200bOn Sunday, July 26, The Unreconciled Project will host a creative writing workshop and a peer support group for survivors of childhood sexual abuse and their loved ones. The Unreconciled Project works to empower survivors to reclaim their voices through the art of storytelling, facilitating workshops, peer support groups, and public forums with leading experts on the effects of childhood sexual abuse.
CREATIVE WRITING WORKSHOP
\u200bIn conjunction with UNRECONCILED, the Unreconciled Project will host a writing workshop The Embodied Story, on Sunday, July 26, 1–4 pm, at Northampton Center for the Arts. This workshop is for anyone with a story to tell who wants to find new ways to get started. During the three-hour session, participants will write new material, explore sensory elements in stories, experiment with ways to deepen narrative, and connect with a creative community. The cost of the workshop is $75. Financial aid is available for those who need it. The workshop is facilitated by Jay Sefton (playwright and performer of UNRECONCILED, and licensed mental health counselor) and Melenie Freedom Flynn (author and trauma-informed coach). More information and registration on unreconciledtheplay.com. \u200b
UNRECONCILED will make its New York City premiere at La MaMa ETC in Spring 2027.
BIOGRAPHIES
JAY SEFTON [he/him] (Playwright/Performer) is an actor and licensed mental health counselor, originally from Philadelphia, and currently based in Easthampton, Massachusetts. Selected theatre credits include: UNRECONCILED (Writer/Performer, Chester Theatre Company), What the Constitution Means to Me (WAM Theatre/Berkshire Theatre Group and Capital Rep, Albany), Honor Killing, Paradise (WAM Theatre, Fresh Takes Reading Series), A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Lady Slipper, Million Dollar Quartet, Outside Mullingar (The Majestic Theater), Two Rooms (Silverthorne Theatre Company), The Most Mediocre Story Never Told (Writer/Performer), A Life in the Theatre, Dark Rapture (Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre), King Lear (Theatricum Botanicum, Los Angeles). Film/TV: The Wire, Grey’s Anatomy, The Shield, Summerland, Providence. He is a member of Actors’ Equity and SAG-AFTRA. Jay is the recipient of the LA WEEKLY Award for Best Solo Performance for The Most Mediocre Story Never Told, and the winner of the Berkshire Theatre Critics Association Award for Outstanding Solo Performance for UNRECONCILED, which also won Outstanding World Premiere of a New Play in 2024. He is the Executive Director of The Unreconciled Project and was honored by SNAP (Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests) for his work with survivors in Pennsylvania, and by CHILD USA with the Sean P. McIlmail Hero Award in 2025.
MARK BASQUILL [he/him] (Playwright) was raised in South Philadelphia and practices clinical psychology in Wilmington, NC, where he helps veterans recover from the wounds of war, often using writing to promote healing. Recent essays, stories, and poems can be found in Cirque: A Literary Journal for the North Pacific Rim; Consequence Forum; and Snapdragon: A Journal of Art and Healing. Mark has also written two full-length dramas about his own family’s unfinished struggles to heal from the impact of childhood clergy abuse.
MELENIE FREEDOM FLYNN [she/her] (Unreconciled Project Workshop Facilitator) is an author, actor, and certified coach. Her writing has been supported by fellowships from Yaddo, MacDowell, the Elizabeth George Foundation, Massachusetts Cultural Council, the Edith Wharton House, Straw Dog Writers’ Guild, Djerassi Residents Artists Program, and Atlantic Center for the Arts. A graduate of the MFA Acting Program at California Institute of the Arts, Melenie has performed in theatres across the country. She leads creative writing workshops and provides coaching and editorial services for writers.
ABOUT THE UNRECONCILED PROJECT
\u200bThe Unreconciled Project works to empower survivors of childhood sexual abuse to reclaim their voices through the art of storytelling. In conjunction with the play, the Project facilitates storytelling workshops, peer support groups, and public forums with leading experts. It partners with organizations and institutions seeking to broaden awareness of the effects of childhood sexual abuse and to foster greater openness in the spirit of healing.
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