About the Show

How do you plan for catastrophe? Virologist Nathan Wolfe, named one of TIME’s 100 Most Influential People in the World for his work tracking Ebola and swine flu, proposed pandemic insurance years before the novel coronavirus outbreak. No one bought it. Now, in a post-COVID world, we hear his story—presented entirely digitally. Playwright Lauren Gunderson (The Revolutionists and Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley) returns with a time-jumping tale based on the life and work of Nathan Wolfe (who also happens to be her husband). A deep dive into the profundities of scientific exploration and the harrowing realities of facing your own mortality, The Catastrophist is a world premiere theatrical experience built of and for this moment in time.

Running Time: The show runs approximately 80 minutes, from the time you press play.

Accessibility: Captions for The Catastrophist are available through Vimeo.

How to Access the Performance

For ticketholders, the production will appear in the Digital Content section of your Playhouse website account until the show closes. Here's a quick breakdown of how to get there:

1. Purchase a ticket for the show.
2. Click here to login to your account.
3. You will be redirected to a new page. From there, click “Digital Content” on the left, if it is not already selected.
4. The production will be available in your account for you to watch anytime between April 26 and May 23.

*Note: If your login isn't working, use the "Forgot Password" link to reset your password.

Want to Stream to Your TV?

There are three ways to watch The Catastrophist on your television, after you've logged into your Playhouse account through a computer or mobile device as described above.

1. You can use wireless screen mirroring to connect your computer or mobile device to your television through AppleTV, Samsung, Amazon Fire Stick and Roku, depending on the devices you have.
2. You can use an adapter (like an HDMI cable) to connect your computer to the television physically.
3. You can also connect your device to the television using Chromecast products if you have them.

Learn More

About the Artists