Review Fix chats with L.B. Browne, who discusses her newest production, Safe House.
About the Production:
Safe House is a family drama set in the days leading up to a U.S. presidential election. Convinced the second American civil war is imminent, Rock, a father secretly dying of a hereditary neurodegenerative disease, becomes consumed by the need to protect his family. In the basement of his Pennsylvania suburban home, transformed, beam by beam, into a doomsday bunker, he has built what he believes is the last safe place on earth. But when his estranged teenage daughter returns home pregnant, the tensions that have long simmered beneath the surface of the household break open, and the father’s obsession with safety turns into something else entirely.
About the Playwright:
L. B. Browne is a playwright, novelist, journalist, and physician. She is a Fulbright Scholar, a recipient of the 2025 Broad Ripple Review Prize in Fiction, and an alumna of the DISQUIET International Literary Program in Lisbon. Her fiction has appeared in The Sewanee Review and LIT Magazine, where she also serves as Fiction Editor. Her play Safe House was developed at the 2025 La MaMa Umbria International Playwriting Workshop in Spoleto, Italy under the guidance of Pulitzer Prize finalist Dael Orlandersmith, received a table reading at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, and had its first public reading at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in April 2026.
Review Fix: How was this production born?
L. B. Browne: At its heart, Safe House is a family drama, and I suppose all family dramas start with living in a family. But over the past several years, I’ve also become increasingly curious about the forces shaping this current moment in our history and the ways people have responded to them. Survivalist culture is not unique to the U.S., but it is deeply ingrained here. And we keep inventing new forms of what survival looks like. At this moment, I’d say it looks like a private domestic bunker, which is a whole world in itself. And the bunker got me thinking about the blurry line between care and control, and how easily we cross it, whether we intend to or not. And each question seemed to lead to another until I knew I had to explore them on the page. As a writer, I learn by creating characters. Writing is a magnificent exercise in building empathy, because in trying to understand characters without judging them, you usually end up learning about yourself. So I wrote this script, and workshopped and developed it, and then the wonderful Glenn Seven Allen read it and sent it to the amazing Rachel Shuey, Vik Mickute, and Manuel Ortiz at split/decision, and from there the production just took off.
Review Fix: Are politics a big point of contention in your home?
Browne: The people in my family have always had strong, conflicting opinions. But in this play, I was less interested in asking who was right or wrong, and more interested in exploring the underlying fears and desires that shape these characters’ beliefs, especially when those beliefs put them in conflict with people they love.
Review Fix: What was your favorite character to write?
Browne: That’s a hard one, because I learned from every one of these characters. But I’d say I really enjoy writing characters who seem easy to understand (at least at first) and then begin to surprise me with their complexity. And I suppose the character that surprised me most was the mother, Slipper. I started out thinking of her as a deferential housewife, but pretty quickly she revealed herself to be quirky and funny and powerful in her own right. And there’s nothing better than writing someone who makes you laugh.
Review Fix: What was development like? How did the production change?
Browne: Development was incredibly useful because I learned fast that the play I heard in my head and the play that existed in the room with actors were two different things. Hearing the dialogue aloud helped me to spot the places where I could say less and trust the actors to carry more without the drama descending into explanation. I think overall the play became more human and less interested in explaining or justifying itself. So the process was a true gift.
Review Fix: Any fun stories from on-set?
Browne: There are definitely stories, but I think I’ll protect the innocent and say that what happens in rehearsal stays in rehearsal. We’ve had a lot of fun making the show!
Review Fix: What do you want people to take with them after this production?
Browne: I’d like for people to leave the theatre feeling a little uncomfortable. If Safe House leaves people asking themselves how well they understand the people they love or what they might do if their beliefs collided with that love, then I think the play has done its job.
Review Fix: What else would you like to add?
Browne: I just want to say how grateful I am to everyone who’s helped bring Safe House to life. The producers at split/decision and co-producer Glenn Seven Allen have been a dream to work with. Ben Viertel has been an incredible director, and the actors and designers and managers have really thrown their entire selves into the work. I feel very lucky to work with such a strong team.
I also hope audiences come to Safe House without feeling like they need to agree with it. The play is there to provoke thought and conversation, not to persuade anyone to a particular point of view.
Review Fix: Where can people find out more?
Browne: For show info and tickets, you can go to our production website at https://www.splitdecision.co/safe-house or the theatre’s website at https://theatrerow.ludus.com/show_page.php?show_id=200539542 . Safe House is running for a limited engagement from September 3 through 13, so don’t miss the chance to see it! You can also follow the show’s Instagram page @safehouseplay.
Review Fix: What’s next?
Browne: I’m always writing. Plays, novels, short stories, poetry, you name it. I’m working on a few projects in various stages right now and I’m looking forward to sharing more when I can. For the moment though, I’m super excited to bring Safe House to audiences and see what conversation it creates.
The table reading at Tisch before the La MaMa public reading caught my eye – playwrights always say dialogue only shows its flaws once it is spoken aloud. I do freestyle rap as a hobby and it is the same thing: lines that read fine on the page can fall apart the moment you have to land them on a beat. Would love to know if Browne cut anything at the table reading stage purely because of how it landed out loud.