At witching hour in the library of the elite Faraday Conservatory, a secret society gathers under the pretense of studying literature. But as the clock strikes midnight, the mask of “The Lilium Club” begins to fall, exposing the members in a whirlwind of deceit, romance and blood.
Written and directed by University of Utah student and Daily Utah Chronicle Opinion Editor Morgan Champine, this original thriller makes its debut as part of the Department of Theatre’s Studio 115 season.
A bloody good time
“The Lilium Club” leans heavily into its R-rating. The play features a “love square,” seven choreographed fight scenes and a plot of murder and cannibalism.
“The term ‘bloody good time’ is so often useful to describe thriller or horror shows,” Champine said. “But truly, it is. It’s a bloody good time.”
The idea for the play began for Champine in high school. They were inspired by a single, haunting image of two girls flirting while one held a knife. “I was particularly curious about how we make the audience complicit,” Champine said. They noted that the audience serves as a sort of “Greek chorus” to the unfolding chaos.
Beyond the aesthetic
Though the play leans into the popular “Dark Academia” aesthetic, it uses that backdrop to critique deeper societal issues like classism, money, and the corruptibility of power. “It wants you to ask yourself the question of, is what you want worth what you would do to get it?” Champine said.
The story centers on a group of pretentious, upper-class students led by the charismatic and manipulative Hope Thorne (Abigail Graham). Contrasting this wealth is the character of James Glass, a scholarship student who sacrifices his own identity to reach the level of his wealthy peers.
Champine also emphasized the importance of portraying complex, “imperfect” queer characters. “I’m always worried about the idea of queer characters having to be perfect in every piece of media they’re in. I’ve decided to go basically the completely opposite route and make them so not perfect, like, detestable, evil, do bad things,” Champine said.
Actor Grace DeRose, who plays Diana Fray, said that she was drawn to the play because of the characters. “There’s not one character who’s purely good, there’s not one character who’s purely evil … You feel like you can root for them, you feel like you can root against them. But there’s never a moment where you feel completely certain about what a character is,” she said.
Jason Hogue (playing James Glass) shared that the process has forced him to question where the limit of forgiveness lies in human relationships.
The power of student-led theatre
Because the production is entirely student-run, the rehearsal process has been defined by what the cast calls “collective effervescence.”
Abigail Graham, who plays Hope Thorne, discussed how being in a student-led production is a much different experience. “We get to play around a lot with all sorts of different acting styles and techniques … it teaches me a lot about myself as an actor, but also how I can be better as an educator, as a facilitator and just as a castmate in general,” she said.
DeRose agreed with Graham. “You feel more comfortable and are trying to experiment with your character and with the script and try out new things,” she said.
The cast encourages a vocal response from those in the seats. “It is okay to laugh,” said Graham. “We want to hear you … laugh, smile, cry, maybe throw up.”
Support student-led productions
The 2026 university premiere of “The Lilium Club,” written and directed by Champine, is playing from Feb. 5-7 at 7:30. The production runs for approximately 90 minutes and will be showing in the Performing Arts Building.
Because the play aims to push boundaries and explore the “limit of forgiveness,” audiences should come prepared knowing that it is rated R and is not recommended for young audiences. Please take note that the play contains sexual harassment, drug use, death and murder, cannibalism and graphic special effects.
To view this production, details on buying tickets can be found here.
