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.
The FBI transcript is choppy, repetitive, and dull. However, 'Is This A Room' (which was conceived and directed by Tina Satter) is primarily concerned with what is not said - theatricalizing the tension, uncertainty, and awkwardness of the interrogation experience through body language. The production also employs hazy lighting, sudden blackouts, overlapping voices, pauses, and a dissonant score and sound design.
Satter, who serves as artistic director of the theater company Half Straddle, performs an impressive sleight of hand, coaxing suspense from a foregone conclusion like a rabbit from a hat. Satter's choreographic staging is marked by striking tableaux, as the agents circle their prey with a levity that grows cold - gradually, and then all at once.
2019 | Off-Broadway |
Vineyard Theatre Off-Broadway World Premiere Off-Broadway |
2019 | Off-Broadway |
Vineyard Theatre Off-Broadway Return Engagement Off-Broadway |
2021 | Broadway |
Original Broadway Production Broadway |
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