Is This A Room NYC Reviews and Tickets

79%

(154 Reviews)

Positive

86%

Mixed

Negative

Members say

Great acting, Absorbing, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Intense

About the Show

Vineyard Theatre presents a new play staging the verbatim transcript of the FBI interrogation of Russian election hacking whistleblower Reality Winner.

From the show:

A true story, still unfolding. June 3, 2017. A 25-year-old former Air Force linguist named Reality Winner is surprised at her home by the FBI, interrogated, and then charged with leaking evidence of Russian interference in U.S elections. Reality remains in jail with a record-breaking sentence. The FBI transcript of her interrogation is the heart of IS THIS A ROOM, conceived as a play and directed by Obie Award-winner Tina Satter, in which an extraordinary human drama unfolds between the complex and witty Reality (Emily Davis), and the agents who question her. As Reality’s autonomy shrinks before her eyes, a simmering real-life thriller emerges, asking what it is to have honor in this American moment, and how the personal can reverberate globally.

Member Reviews (154)

Intense, Relevant, Great acting, Wrenching, Stunning

See it if you want to hear, verbatim, the FBI interrogn of RWinner. My stomach was in knots. Emily Davis is terrific (deserves a solo curtain call!)

Don't see it if you want tradl theater.While there's an arc, ITAR is talky w/simple staging. Redactions aren't filled in. Brings news story to life. Intense

Clever, Anger inducing, Relevant, Intelligent, Absorbing

See it if You have any interest in current political affairs. What on its face seems like an FBI story is most definitely one of politics.

Don't see it if Your stomach can’t take another example of proof positive that we have an orange criminal sitting in the White House.

Profound, Intelligent, Great acting, Clever, Absorbing

See it if A play about the FBI and how they interrogate. Deals with Russian foreign interference.From Coney to McCabe we see how criminal the fbi is

Don't see it if If you dont like political drama.

Quick, Creative, Fascinating, Absorbing

See it if You are fascinated by interrogations. This is an actual one but staged.. and done well.

Don't see it if You prefer musicals or narrative plays.

Great acting, Masterful, Relevant, Thought-provoking, Riveting

See it if Verbatim transcript turned into a stunning play. FBI agents do an exquisite job of interrogation. Great characterizations & mastery of text.

Don't see it if You won't enjoy a revealing nonfiction work -- the agents care about RW's pets to gain her trust, while trapping her into lies. Read more

Must see, Relevant, Intense, Absorbing, Unique

See it if you want to see a uniquely-staged, compelling docudrama literally ripped from the headlines that offers a rare glimpse into FBI practices.

Don't see it if you don't think that the banality of small talk & official procedure can be arresting theater; ur not interested in political theater. Read more

Intense, Thought-provoking, Absorbing, Great acting, Relevant

See it if you like real-life situations-this one with disturbing professionals, portrayed by good actors, working unscrupulously. Good sound & lights.

Don't see it if you don't like characters talking over each other & acting to "script" that is constantly distracting. Difficult hearing all due 2 side seat

Great acting, Relevant, Resonant, Thought-provoking, Absorbing

See it if Dynamic performances (esp Davis' Reality) & Satter's acute staging propel this docu-drama (actual testimony) into a surreal dreamlike realm

Don't see it if Drawing from the literal transcript for a dramatic mise en scene doesn't allow for any embellishment Dramatic tension is amazing nonetheless

Critic Reviews (13)

For a previous production

CRITIC’S PICK "Why’d She Blow the Whistle?: Tina Satter’s remarkable docudrama recreates the bizarrely banal interrogation that led to the arrest of the intelligence contractor Reality Winner."
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For a previous production

4/5 Stars "The production smartly balances vérité and stylization, offering its own interrogation of the event…But 'Is This A Room' has a movingly human presence at its core. Davis gives a performance of heart-wrenching rawness and lucidity."
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For a previous production

"When I learned that the show would move to the Vineyard for a longer engagement, I was thrilled to see it again—it contains one of my favorite pieces of performance ever. Pencils down, voting over."
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For a previous production

"Is This a Room Dramatizes the Interrogation of NSA Leaker Reality Winner: Tina Satter's new play exposes the weight of body language in exercises of power."
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For a previous production

"Real Life Provides The Intriguing Script For Tina Satter's Tense Drama 'IS THIS A ROOM'"
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For a previous production

"Seeing Winner -- an achingly vulnerable Emily Davis -- struggle to make small talk with these strangers, who shuttle between chatty repartee and veiled threats -- is an authentic white-knuckle experience."
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For a previous production

4/5 Stars "A stark and striking new work of documentary theater, a sharp slice of real life that gives audiences something current and substantial to chew over afterwards."
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For a previous production

"The second problem is that since it is a transcript it is not very dramatic, going back over the same material again and again, trying to catch Winner out or be careful to cover all legal bases. The dialogue remains mundane for most of the performance."
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For a previous production

"It’s up to each of us not only to fill in the blanks but to decide for ourselves if this exercise in theatrical reality sufficiently addresses the issue of whether Reality Winner is a winner or a loser. And without any contextual background…I suspect few people will bother."
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For a previous production

"As an animation of a single document, 'Is This A Room' feels like a refreshingly innovative concept."
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For a previous production

'The interrogation is undeniably fascinating - a sort of psychological thriller…[But] the minimal staging. low-key acting, and sometimes barely audible delivery made 'Is This A Room' more effort than reward for me, compared to simply reading the transcript online."
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For a previous production

"Lifted from an FBI transcript, this Off-Broadway exercise doesn't elevate to play status but certainly provokes thoughts about the treacherous acts aimed at undermining our democracy and those who sacrifice their lives in response."
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For a previous production

"This could have been a very different kind of production, one lacking the dramatic momentum and vivid characterizations that Satter and her cast give it. It's unrecognizable as documentary-based theater if you associate that genre with a static staging."
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