By Ross Von Metzke
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Times) May 20, 2026 — Dysfunctional family drama served with a hearty side of sardonic Southern wit is a cornerstone of famed playwright Del Shores’ greatest works (Sordid Lives, The Trials and Tribulations of a Trailer Trash Housewife). So it comes as no surprise that the world premiere production of Cockroaches, a dark, deeply uncomfortable, sharply funny, and unexpectedly heartfelt new play, arrives with support from his namesake nonprofit. Written by Emma Schillage, recipient of the 2024 Del Shores Foundation Writer’s Grant, Cockroaches was selected for the Foundation’s Best Play Award, which includes a production grant for the theatre partner chosen to stage its world premiere. This year, Palm Springs’ Revolution Stage Company earned that honor, and it is an honor indeed.
Cockroaches exposes the rot festering inside a broken family when the oldest daughter, Jenny (Fatima Reyes), returns home from college to care for her two underage siblings, Charlie (Casey Williams) and Sissy (Lailani Baldwin), after their mother’s latest suicide attempt. She’s joined, at times, in the caretaking role by seemingly well-meaning but increasingly unsettling neighbor Mr. Sam (Mat Hayes). Each of the siblings is navigating some form of trauma as their mother “rots from the inside,” as one character says repeatedly.
The performances are universally strong, with Williams and Hayes emerging as standouts, doing a delicate dance that gets tighter and more claustrophobic as the play progresses. Williams effortlessly alternates between wise and outspoken beyond her years and innocent, wide-eyed teen. Hayes, a commanding presence, serves up just the right blend of charm and ick. It takes a specific sort of talent to make a character equal parts disarming and troubling, but his folksy warmth is exactly what the play needs to work. Cockroaches peels back its secrets slowly, allowing past wounds to surface over the course of a tight 95-minute run.
