Jeremy O. Harris on Juggling Theater, ‘Erupcja,’ and Why He Became a Producer

Tony-nominated multihyphenate Jeremy O. Harris may be best known for his wildly popular Broadway production “Slave Play,” but he’s also the acclaimed screenwriter behind the fever-dream crime comedy “Zola” (with director Janicza Bravo) and, most recently, he co-wrote the Charli XCX-starring indie drama “Erupcja” with director Pete Ohs.

He’s also the inaugural creative director of the Williamstown Theatre Festival’s Creative Collective, where his play “Spirit of the People” had its world premiere. In 2025, he founded his production company, bb2, with Josh Godfrey.

Following the film‘s showcase at MoMA and Film at Lincoln Center’s New Directors/New Films festival in New York City, Harris joined IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast hosts Anne Thompson and Ryan Lattanzio for a live and wide-ranging conversation about his career and the new film. It’s out this weekend from 1-2 Special.

In “Erupcja,” a romantic vacation goes awry after a volcanic eruption forces Bethany (Charli xcx) and her soon-to-be fiancé, Rob (Will Madden), into an unplanned extended stay in Warsaw, Poland. Bethany takes the explosive event as a sign to reunite with her old girlfriend Nel (Lena Góra), and carouse across lofts, clubs, and back alleys, leaving her erstwhile partner stranded. Harris plays an expat American painter who becomes the comic relief and mediator between the two. He’s also a producer on the film.

“I’m trying to keep myself interested,” Harris said of his tireless output. “A thing that was really important for me to learn about myself — this might be ADHD, this might be being in the Gifted and Talent program as a kid, this might be just being a double gemini — I like to juggle a lot of things in order to stay interested.”

That curiosity led him to start bb2. “When someone tells me no, I want to understand why. Producers would tell me no all the time, and I said, ‘Well let me become a producer and see why they say no.’ And now I know why some people say no, and I also think sometimes they should’ve said yes. I think I want to be a true renaissance man as much as possible. Right now, what I’m actively doing is, we’re making this movie together right now. I’m learning so much about marketing and independent film at a time when no one’s going to the movies. Or if they’re going, they’re going to see a movie that has, like, a $400-million marketing budget, hoping it makes $600 million at the worldwide box office. How does any of that math work?”

Our wide-ranging chat with Harris also touched on his experience as a co-producer on Season 2 of “Euphoria” — as well as his latest appearance onstage as a ballroom judge in “Cats: The Jellicle Ball.”

Watch the live podcast in the video above, listen below, or stream on your preferred podcast platform.