Life Sucks. But this play doesn’t.

theatre KAPOW opens its 17th season with Aaron Posner’s profoundly humane and hilariously quirky comedy Life Sucks. at BNH Stage in Concord Sept. 20 through 22.

A group of old friends, ex-lovers, estranged in-laws, and lifelong enemies gather to grapple with life’s thorniest questions — and each other. What could possibly go wrong? Incurably lustful and lonely, hapless and hopeful, these seven souls collide and hilariously stumble their way towards a new understanding that life sucks! Or does it? And how do we get through it?

Egos clash, hearts hunger, and souls cry out for meaning in this raw and cleverly funny reimagining of Anton Chekhov’s timeless classic Uncle Vanya. In Posner’s fresh take, the audience directly impacts what is happening on stage. The characters often talk to and ask questions of the audience. You might just learn something about your companion to the theater. Or you might reveal something.

The theme for tKAPOW’s 17th season is ‘conversation.’ This season emphasizes their commitment to bring stories to the stage that start conversations. Life Sucks. eliminates the wall between audience and actors and brings the two into direct dialogue about so many of the struggles and joys that we have in common.

This is the second time that tKAPOW has produced one of Posner’s adaptations of Chekhov’s plays. Learn more about tKAPOW’s incredibly successful 2016 production of Stupid F-ing Bird here.

ASL Interpretation will be available at the Sunday, Sept. 22 matinee performance at 2 p.m. at the BNH Stage in Concord.

Seven actors return to tKAPOW again to perform in Life Sucks.: Deirdre Bridge, Emma Cahoon, Peter Josephson, Rachael Chapin Longo, Walter Maroney, Katie Proulx, and Glenn Provost. Life Sucks. is directed by Matt Cahoon and Intimacy Choreography by Samantha Griffin. Longtime tKAPOW collaborator Tayva Young will be providing the lighting design, and Barbara Holbrook the costume design.

Performances of Life Sucks. are Sept. 20 and 21 at 7:30 p.m. and Sept. 22 at 2 p.m. at the BNH Stage in Concord. For tickets or more information, visit tkapow.com.