The Wilma Theater presents Rajiv Joseph’s ‘Describe the Night’

What is truth? What are lies? How often do you need to tell a lie before it is accepted as truth? How long until a difficult truth mutates into an acceptable lie? Is history factual or subjective? These are just some of the questions that Rajiv Joseph grapples with in his terrific epic play, Describe The Night, now onstage at the Wilma.

What happened and what didn’t

Traversing 90 years of Soviet history, from 1920 to 2010, Describe the Night follows Isaac (EE-zahk) Babel, a Polish soldier and writer (brought to vibrant life by Ross Bechler), introducing the audience to a character who is both real and imagined, placed in situations both historically accurate and invented.

The very first scene sets the tone. Babel, serving in the army, meets a Russian officer, Nikolai, played with great gusto by Steven Rishard. Nikolai states, “Truth is what happened. Lies are what didn’t happen.” In response, Babel begins to tell him stories that he makes up on the spot. When Nikolai realizes that these stories are, according to his logic, lies-and not a stain on Babel’s honor but rather a mark of talent-he finds himself enchanted by the young writer and begins to laugh uproariously. A lifelong friendship begins, and the audience is on notice that the line between true and false might be thinner than we…