A tender and darkly comic autobiographical play that transforms grief into a ritual of forgiveness.
The Nosebleed is an autobiographical play by Doris Duke Award–winning playwright and director Aya Ogawa that explores their fractured relationship with their long-deceased and enigmatic father. Through a series of turbulent, absurd, and poignantly comic vignettes, Ogawa reveals the seemingly insurmountable cultural and generational gap between themselves and their father, as well as the questions they face as a parent today.
Four actors play the character of “Aya,” and Aya themself plays their father and 5-year-old son. The multiple Ayas in each scene offer layered and, at times, contradictory perspectives on the story. Through moments of direct address and interactions, the audience is drawn deeper into the theatrical memorial and healing ritual. This darkly humorous, tender, and inventive play considers how we inherit and bequeath failure, and what it takes to forgive.
Cover photo by Angel Origgi, courtesy of REDCAT
In the Press
“Coming to a Theater Near You...” by Nathalie Graham for The Stranger | September 9, 2025
“The Nosebleed Is a Delightful Meditation on Failure and Parenting” by Jared Strange for Washington Citypaper | April 10, 2023
“The Nosebleed turns playwright’s introspection into communal catharsis” by Thomas Floyd for The Washington Post | April 7, 2023
“Everyone is invited into the story in The Nosebleed” by Gregory Ford for DC Theater Arts | April 5, 2023
“The Best Theater of 2022” by Jackson McHenry for Vulture/New York Magazine | December 9, 2022
“Weekend arts planner: The Nosebleed” by Steve Smith for Gothamist | August 13, 2022
“What to Do With an Absent Father? Cast Him as a Character Onstage.” by Laura Collins-Hughes for The New York Times | August 11, 2022
“Critic’s Pick: Reconciling the Ghosts in the Attic” by Naveen Kumar for The New York Times | August 4, 2022
“Critic’s Pick: ‘Who Here Hates Their Father?’” by Laura Collins-Hughes for The New York Times | October 3, 2021
About the Artist
Credits
Aya Ogawa | Creator, Writer, Director, Performer
Ashil Lee, Kaili Y. Turner, Saori Tsukada, Drae Campbell, Christopher Kehoe | Performers
Jian Jung | Set & Costume Designer
Jeanette Oi-Suk Yew | Lighting Designer and Sound Facilitator
Megumi Katayama | Sound Designer
Huai Huang | Production Stage Manager
John Del Gaudio | Line Producer
Manatsu Tanaka | Off-site Understudy
The Nosebleed 2025 tour is produced, in part, by Lakeville Productions, and fiscally sponsored by Producer Hub.
