Four thespians, longtime friends, test the bounds of artistic expression under the watchful eye of an autocratic regime. When they stage a controversial play, the consequences exceed their worst nightmare and they are branded "terrorists." With only creativity as their arsenal, they scheme, lie and conjure their way back to (relative) freedom. A darkly comedic fable about the fragility of creative freedom and what one seemingly powerless band of misfits willingly risks in its service.

INSPIRATION/MOTIVATION

The battle for freedom of creative expression is never entirely won. As Oskar Eustis once said, "Truth comes from the collision of different ideas, and theatre plays an essential role in showing us that truth." I wrote The Joy of Theatre because democracy needs theatre as much as theatre needs democracy.

When I learned that two female Russian feminists, a playwright and director, had been incarcerated for "justifying terrorism," I read the offending play and quickly realized that the charges brought against these two free thinkers were a total sham. The injustice of their incarceration and subsequent conviction not only incensed me, but filled me with horror. Imagine being an artist under a regime that may, arbitrarily, at any moment, persecute you for a poem, an image, or a scene acted upon a stage! This play is the waking nightmare induced by a dictator's latest twisted act of vengeance.