Describe the Night

by Rajiv Joseph

WINNER - Best American Play, Obie Awards 2018

In 1920, the Russian writer Isaac Babel wanders the countryside with the Red Cavalry. In 1990, a mysterious KGB agent spies on a woman in Dresden and falls in love. In 2010, an aircraft carrying most of the Polish government crashes in the Russian city of Smolensk.

Set in Russia over the course of ninety years, this thrilling and epic new play by Rajiv Joseph traces the stories of seven men and women connected by history, myth and conspiracy theories.

Genres: Plays, Theatre, Drama

136 pages, Paperback

Published November 10, 2017

Reviews

[Doug · Rating 5 out of 5]

An extremely dense, difficult play that would probably benefit from a reread (which I may very well do). Joseph remains one of our finest contemporary American playwrights, but he doesn't make it easy for his audience. Individual scenes are masterful, but sometimes it is hard to fit all the pieces together.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this play in advance of seeing it on stage next month. My son is cast as Isaac. It’s not uncommon for me to read plays before I see him perform in them so I can understand what he’s telling me about as they work through rehearsals. What is uncommon is how absolutely awesome this play is to read! Joseph has done a magnificent job with this script. He has taken Isaac Babel out of history and spun a clever, dark at times, but very clever, and almost dystopian thriller tale into modern times. The end completely surprised me! Can’t wait to see this one on stage.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saw this at the Wilma in Philadelphia. It's too long, the final scene is unnecessary, and there is a little too much underlining of the main themes and connections between characters. (Trust your audience! You're not *that* smart.) That said, this was the most compelling piece of theatre I've seen in a little while. I enjoyed the blending of history with magical realism, truly appreciated the scope of the narrative, and found the script to be quite funny despite the darkness.

[sezen]

Exasperating in its politics: if people like Isaac Babel are worth remembering, it is because they had the courage to speak up against *their own regimes,* not because they regurgitated familiar ideas about what horrors lied *on the other side* of the Iron Curtain.

The world we live in wasn't single-handedly created by Putin; I would say a certain country that repeatedly backed fascist military coups d'etat up and down Latin America, that first supported radical Islam as a safeguard against the communist threat (by which I mean that full on trained Islamists in guerrilla warfare and whatnot), and then invaded several countries and destabilised their political regimes for decades to come so that it could continue its oil-guzzling lifestyle played a somewhat not insignificant role -- though I am sure that it is also "the land of the rock 'n roll" makes up for most of that.

[nora · Rating 5 out of 5]

an absolute delight to read, but i couldn't recommend seeing the play performed highly enough. if this is the only way you can experience it, though, take it--this play revolutionized the way i see historical fiction in general, with its twisting takes on truth and power and the very nature of narrative-forming.

[Aaron Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good play about truth and lies and the Soviet Union and Isaac Babel and the KGB and what it means to make up stories. It is (as a couple other reviewers have said) a bit too long. But it's very, very smart and wonderfully theatrical and imaginative, and the last two sequences completely broke my heart.

[Young Eagle 于高鹰 · Rating 4 out of 5]

少数探讨了巴别尔与叶若夫的微妙关系的作品，而不是简单以“情敌”视之。（“尼古拉用手抬起伊萨克的脸，不知道是要杀他还是吻他。”嗑疯了好吧。）不能当正剧看就是，史实抛到九霄云外了，还出现了非常魔幻现实主义的叶若夫活到苏联解体前夕给年轻的普京传授契卡之秘传心法的情节。喜欢审讯时叶若夫被巴别尔质问性取向而恼羞成怒，以至于烧他手稿来逼他招供的场景。现代线勾连起斯摩棱斯克空难事件，落脚点是很当代俄罗斯的“后真相”主题。与我预期不太相符，不过演出来感觉会有点意思。

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

A play worth a reread

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Felt compelled to read this after seeing a production. Complex and ambitious, the individual scenes are masterfully written, but the overall play (both in production and reading) left me ambivalent.

[Petar Terziev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Великолепна пиеса от може би най-добрия съвременен драматург.

[Jake Van Hoorn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heartbreaking and powerful, I loved the different time periods presented, this would be a dream play for a dramaturg to work on.

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Little magic, some fun parallel paths. great read

[efin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bad take? Saw at Steppenwolf litterally pissing myself about seeing a Rajiv Joseph play and I was out looking like this
(・・?)

[uh lee suh · Rating 4 out of 5]

i really want to see this performed live someday because WOW what a loaded, brilliant play

[zz · Rating 4 out of 5]

(NIKOLAI is pained, but takes the pain and puts it away and never feels it again.)

[Gracie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very similar to some of his other writings.

[Cori · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Play discussion group script #27)