Is This a Room is the astonishingly true story of Reality Winner, the 25-year-old former Air Force linguist who was surprised at her home by the FBI on June 3, 2017. The play’s text is taken from the FBI transcript of her interrogation – and from these pages, Tina Satter has wrought an extraordinary human drama between Reality (Emily Davis) and the agents who question her. In this theatrical thriller, Reality’s life is upended before our eyes, and we’re left questioning American values and the very nature of the truth.
Is This A Room is a gripping, highly recommended piece of theater, and also an unexpectedly intricate ballet. The 70-minute, deservedly multi-award winning play, which opens on Broadway tonight at the Lyceum Theatre, is an enactment of the transcript of what was said when the FBI first came to the Augusta, Georgia, home of former Air Force linguist and intelligence contractor Reality Winner on June 3, 2017.
Satter's staging ratchets up the tension slowly, subtly. Note how Garrick creeps behind Reality's shoulder, then inches closer and closer to her face. He throws around the word 'voluntary,' but could Reality simply have left? Everything about the situation-including the redactions in the transcript, which are punctuated by blistering sounds and stark lighting shifts-screams pressure; it's no wonder she eventually comes clean. (Side note: This is an argument for the lawyers, which she did not have. But the fact that her confession, which came before she was read her rights, was admissible is mind-boggling. If Briscoe and Logan had pulled this stunt with a perp on Law & Order, McCoy wouldn't have gotten the confession past any judge in New York.)
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