Independent Arts News Reporting New Play Sulfur Bottom Teams Up With NYC Climate Week to Raise Awareness on Environmental Justice
Reported Thursday, July 17, 2025.
Pictured Above: Awareness Posters for Climate Week NYC & Sulfur Bottom. Art Credit: Contributed.
NEWSROOM POST: NEW YORK, NEW YORK
This production marks the Off-Broadway debut of Rishi Varma, an emerging American playwright aiming to raise awareness about environmental justice through storytelling
New York, NY –The new play titled Sulfur Bottom by Rishi Varma is set to be an official event of Climate Week NYC this September, aiming to raise awareness about environmental justice. This event underscores the urgent need to address the challenges posed by environmental collapse through the lens of art and storytelling. With performances scheduled throughout the program, Sulfur Bottom seeks to engage audiences in meaningful conversations about the impact of climate change on communities.
Sulfur Bottom is an eco-gothic drama that explores the quiet devastation of environmental collapse through the eyes of one family over a span of 40 years. Set in a decaying home on the edge of industrial sprawl, the play transforms the slow violence of pollution into something both intimate and unsettling.
Pictured Above: Cast of Sulfur Bottom. Photo Credit: Contributed.
During Climate Week NYC, Sulfur Bottom will host four special performances: September 20 at 1 PM, September 24 at 7:30 PM, September 27 at 1 PM, and October 1 at 7:30 PM. This collaboration with Climate Week NYC highlights the vital role that theater can play in promoting climate action. Through these performances, the production invites attendees to reflect on their own relationship with the environment and consider the actions necessary for a more sustainable future.
For tickets to Sulfur Bottom, please click HERE.
“Being an official event of Climate Week NYC is an incredible opportunity to bring environmental conversations into a shared space where people can feel their urgency. Theater invites us to confront big issues like climate justice not through statistics, but through empathy. I hope Sulfur Bottom adds a meaningful voice to that collective effort,” said Rishi Varma, playwright.
Each of the special climate week performances will include unique programming such as post-show talkbacks, partnerships with local environmental justice organizations, and community engagement activities (to be announced).
The collaboration between Sulfur Bottom and Climate Week NYC is a timely reminder of the power of storytelling in driving social change.
Sulfur Bottom is set to take the stage at The Jerry Orbach Theater at The Theater Center located at 210 West 50th Street. The play will have previews on Wednesday, August 13th and Sunday, August 16th with an opening date of August 20th, The schedule will play Wednesdays at 7:30 PM and Saturdays at 1 PM.
Climate Week NYC, presented by Climate Group, is the biggest global climate event of its kind, bringing together tens of thousands of people from across the globe to drive action. Running September 21-28, 2025, across all five boroughs, Climate Week NYC will be the platform where the big challenges of our time are discussed. The Opening Ceremony and The Hub Live, taking place September 22 and 23, bring together heads of government and leaders from the world of business, all levels of government, tech, academia, and civil society. Together, they share ideas, challenge, create, influence, collaborate and energize. In addition, the Climate Week NYC events program features hundreds of events across the city, from grassroots organizations and community-led gatherings to companies and policy-shapers that come out in full force to drive change.
Pictured Above: Playwright Rishi Varma. Photo Credit: RishiVarma.com
Rishi Varma writes at the crossroads of comedy and drama, often veering completely into the surreal and absurd. A playwright, screenwriter, actor, and producer based in New York City, whose work has appeared at Theaterlab and Urban Stages. Rishi studied playwriting at Northwestern University, where he led a full production and writer’s room before moving to NYC to become an actor-writer (very original!). His writing mixes humor and heart to dig into the weirdness of how people behave. And sometimes, it can get very weird. Outside of writing and acting, Rishi teaches SCUBA diving in the city (yes, really). He also shares life’s daily drama with his dog, a steadfast companion who remains unimpressed by résumés or curtain calls.
For more information on Rishi, please visit www.rishivarma.com
Megumi Nakamura (they/she) is a Brooklyn-based director and actor who hails from San Francisco, CA. Most recently, Megumi directed the world premiere of Isaiah Stavchansky’s Anne Frank in Mt. Vernon, OH at JACK in Brooklyn. This summer, they are set to direct the regional premiere of their original musical The Twelfth Night Show co-written with Jacob Brandt at Weston Theater Co. in Vermont. Megumi has served as the resident Associate Director of the Lyrics & Lyricists series for their 2022-2025 seasons where they have worked on over ten productions with an array of award-winning directors. As an actor, Megumi most recently appeared on Broadway in Amy Herzog’s Mary Jane at Manhattan Theater Club.
For more information please visit www.climateweeknyc.org
For more information on Sulfur Bottom, please visit www.sulfurbottom.com
