Is This a Room

Is This a Room is a dramatic stage play by American playwright Tina Satter based on the real-life 2017 FBI interrogation of former U.S. Air Force linguist Reality Winner. The production premiered at The Kitchen in New York City in 2019, before transferring Off-Broadway and, later, on Broadway at the Lyceum Theatre, where it played in repertory with Dana H. by Lucas Hnath.

Plot

Based on real-life FBI tapes, the play follows the verbatim transcription of an interrogation conducted on June 3, 2017, in which former U.S. Air Force linguist and NSA contractor Reality Winner was questioned regarding the alleged leaking of classified intelligence related to Russian interference in the 2016 United States presidential election. The script reproduces the recorded audio in full, including pauses, coughs and verbal mannerisms.

The play's title comes from the real-life FBI transcript, in which the agents question Winner about whether her spare room, used for the interrogation, qualified as a room.

Production history

Is This a Room premiered in the experimental theatrical space at The Kitchen in Chelsea, New York City on January 4, 2019, running through January 13. The production was directed by playwright Tina Satter and starred Emily Davis as Winner, Pete Simpson as Special Agent Garrick, T.L. Thompson as Special Agent Taylor and Becca Blackwell as Unknown Male.

Later that year, the production then transferred Off-Broadway to the Vineyard Theatre, with the cast reprising their roles and Satter returning to direct. The production opened on October 21, 2019 and ran through November 24, after an extension. The play received positive reviews, with New York Theatre Guide claiming "if you were only going to go to one play the rest of the year make it this one" and The New York Times lauded it as an "extraordinary documentary theater work" and praised Davis' performance as "one of the most trenchantly observed performances of the year," while also naming the play a Critic's Pick.

The Off-Broadway production was nominated for four Drama Desk Awards,, an Outer Critics Circle Award, won two Obie Awards for Davis and Satter, and was nominated for four Lucille Lortel Awards, with Davis winning Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play.

The play was announced to transfer to Broadway in 2021, with previews beginning on September 24 with an official opening of October 11, running at the Lyceum Theatre in repertory with Lucas Hnath's Dana H.. All of the cast from the Off-Broadway production, along with Satter, returned with the exception of Thompson, whom Will Cobbs replaced as Special Agent Taylor. The production received rave reviews, with The New York Times calling it "astonishingly emotional" with, again, praise for Davis' performance, calling it "heartbreaking." Variety also praised the production, calling it "impeccable" and praised the "flawless cast." Despite being scheduled to run through January 2022, the show closed on November 27, 2021 after 11 previews and 26 performances.

The stage play was adapted into an HBO feature film, Reality, in 2023 starring Sydney Sweeney and directed by Satter. The film received a 2023 Peabody Award.

Cast and characters

Accolades

2019 Off-Broadway production