Four plays by David Ives launched Readers Theatre Repertory’s ninth season at Blackfish Gallery: “Long Ago and Faraway,” “Other Woman,” “The Philadelphia” and “Words, Words, Words.”

“Fall is homecoming for us,” said director Wendy Wilcox, “and David Ives’ work is a longtime favorite for the company. So I thought I’d take him on.” Wilcox leans toward avant-garde taste in her play selection, and she felt her perspective would add a darker bottom note to the stories.

“Ives is funny, and that’s one reason to love him,” she said. “But the absurd can hide anger, fear, sadness. We’re mining the humor and paying attention to the other aspects, too.”

The cast included Bobby Bermea, Dana Millican, Jonah, Weston, and Wendy Wilcox.

“A David Ives Homecoming” premiered RTR’s ninth season of staging one-hour theatre at Blackfish Gallery. The Gallery had recently included RTR in its 30th Anniversary festivities, recognizing the staged reading company as an integral part of the collective. “So fall is a homecoming for us, too,” said Wilcox. We’re back home, at Blackfish Gallery.