Off-Broadway’s buzziest new play Jonah is “always fascinating—an experiment in disorientation that is never less than very absorbing thanks to writer Rachel Bonds’ extraordinary gift for language” (The Wrap). This New York Times Critic’s Pick “is the kind of play that reveals itself slowly but entirely, without undermining its own considerable power by wrapping anything up neatly.”
Ana is away at school, far from home and deeply alone. When she meets Jonah, everything she's longed for begins falling into place—except that Jonah is not all he seems. What begins as an exploration of thrilling desire shifts into more complex negotiations of intimacy and survival that will keep you guessing until its final twisting moments. Danya Taymor directs “an all-around excellent production” (The New York Times).
While on the level of character depiction “Jonah” holds our attention, its episodic nature, stretches of mundane dialogue and the disjointed narrative lead to a certain frustration: Where we are in Ana’s life is impossible to pin down, and the jumpy story is more confusing than illuminating.
Bonds crafts a denouement as genuine and original as it is moving. Her focus – within an intentionally smudged time frame – is boundaries, those breached and those willingly erased. She brings a fresh perspective to often overworked dramatic themes (sexual assault, domestic abuse) and adroitly mixes in contemporary concerns. Relationships now come pre-set with clearer rules: Participants are required to seek permission and keep asking, to a sometimes silly but reassuring degree.
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