Straight, No Chaser is a new dance-theatre work by Olivia C. Davies, premiering September 2026.

How does a mother pass down lessons she was never taught? How does she provide her unborn child
with answers to questions she had growing up even as she continues to search for them herself?

River is a reformed party girl with mixed heritage roots who has put her drinking
days behind her to start her family. Celebrating 10 years of sobriety and the
imminent birth of her daughter all in one party, River is a gracious host who
nonetheless still has a few loose ends to tie off before she can step fully into her
new identity as Mother.

Through a series of scenes that jump across time, River reckons with the
experience of growing up without her own mother, her fight to find the Red Road,
and the future of her unborn child. On stage, Olivia as River transforms the black
box theatre into a series of living spaces, with the main action taking place in the
storyteller’s kitchen where she bakes a cake in real time, serving the audience
freshly baked slices as the story concludes. An original score by composer Olivia
Shortt underpins the work with sculptures soundscapes and adaptations of Davies’
own singing voice, while Andy Moro’s visual designs create space for supernatural collisions of past, present, and future.

Credits:
Written, choreographed and performed by Olivia C. Davies
Produced by O.Dela Arts
Aimee Bailey, Cultural Consultant
Diane Roberts, Director
Olivia Shortt, Composer
Andy Moro, Visuals
Echo Zhou, Scenography
Sarah Uwadiae, Costume
Graham Price, Lighting, Scenography
Sephora N’Kosi, Assistant Lighting
Originally conceived and written with Raïna Von Waldenburg

75 minutes, no intermission

For more information, EPK and booking, please contact Olivia