Night Is a Room is copyright © 2016 by Naomi Wallace

      Night Is a Room is published by Theatre Communications Group, Inc.,

      520 Eighth Avenue, 24th Floor, New York, NY 10018-4156

      All rights reserved. Except for brief passages quoted in newspaper, magazine, radio or television reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

      Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that this material, being fully protected under the Copyright Laws of the United States of America and all other countries of the Berne and Universal Copyright Conventions, is subject to a royalty. All rights, including but not limited to, professional, amateur, recording, motion picture, recitation, lecturing, public reading, radio and television broadcasting, and the rights of translation into foreign languages are expressly reserved. Particular emphasis is placed on the question of readings and all uses of this book by educational institutions, permission for which must be secured from the author’s representative: Ron Gwiazda, Abrams Artists Agency, 275 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, (646) 461-9325.

      Epigraphs: “One-Way Street” by Walter Benjamin, One-Way Street and Other Writings, published by NLB, London, 1979. “Complaint” by William Carlos Williams, The Collected Poems of William Carlos Williams, published by New Directions, New York, 1986. “Jerusalem” by William Blake, Jerusalem, published by The William Blake Trust/Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey, 1998.

      The publication of Night Is a Room by Naomi Wallace, through TCG’s Book Program, is made possible in part by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

      TCG books are exclusively distributed to the book trade by Consortium Book Sales and Distribution.

      Library of Congress Control Numbers:

      2016039314 (print) / 2016045562 (ebook)

      ISBN 978-1-55936-844-5 (ebook)

      A catalog record for this book is available from the Library of Congress.

      Cover design, book design and composition by Lisa Govan

      Cover art by Bruce McLeod

      First Edition, December 2016

      The only way of knowing a person is to love

      them without hope.

       —WALTER BENJAMIN, “ONE-WAY STREET”

      Night is a room

      darkened for lovers

       —WILLIAM CARLOS WILLIAMS, “COMPLAINT”

      I drew forth the pang

      Of sorrow red hot:

      I work’d it on my resolute anvil.

       —WILLIAM BLAKE, “JERUSALEM”

      CONTENTS

PRODUCTION HISTORY

CHARACTERS

A NOTE ON DIALOGUE

      ACT ONE

      ACT TWO

      ACT THREE

       PRODUCTION HISTORY

      Night Is a Room had its world premiere at Signature Theatre (James Houghton, Artistic Director; Erika Mallin, Executive Director) in New York, on November 22, 2015. It was directed by Bill Rauch. The scenic design was by Rachel Hauck, the costume design was by Clint Ramos, the lighting design was by Jen Schriever and the sound design was by Leah Gelpe. The production stage manager was Cole P. Bonenberger. The cast was:

       CHARACTERS

      LIANA, a senior account director, forty-three

      MARCUS, a schoolteacher, forty

      DORÉ, a domestic worker, fifty-five

      TIME

      The present.

      PLACE

      Leeds, England.

      SET

      Act One: A small, neglected garden.

      Act Two: A living room space in an upper-middle-class household.

      Act Three: An almost bare room off the side of a small chapel.

       A NOTE ON DIALOGUE

      Characters may flow from one idea or subject to the next, even if there seems to be no obvious connection between lines. As though the link between thoughts is sometimes missing, but perhaps only for us. Some lines have no break between them and should be treated as complete sentences. Accents are light, not “realistic.” Liana and Marcus have a mild standard English accent. Doré has a light Yorkshire accent.

      A beat is one second long. A period within a line signals a break, a half second. When compelled, ignore either or both. A forward slash signals an interruption at the end of the word.