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丁香园AV

The University of 丁香园AV

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Title of play Bright Room Called Day by Tony Kushner with blurred background

UW’s Theatre and Film Department presents A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY REVISITED by Tony Kusher December 2 – 6, 2025 in the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film. 

Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright Tony Kushner “revisited” the earliest of his plays ever produced, A Bright Room Called Day, in 2019 to include the impact of President Trump’s first term on the original storyline, adding a new character, and rewriting the end – resulting in A Bright Room Called Day Revisited, an aggressively timely production that asks: “When the Devil takes up residence in your country…will you act?” 

In 1932 Weimar Germany, actress Agnes and her cadre of passionate, progressive friends are torn between protest, escape, and survival as the world they knew crumbles around them.  Agnes’s story is interrupted by an American woman enraged by the cruelty of the Reagan administration, and another character grappling with the anxiety, distraction, hope, and hopelessness of an artist facing the once unthinkable rise of authoritarianism in modern America. Funny, brilliant, and devastating, this radical reimagining of A Bright Room Called Day revisits an epic work that takes a piercing look at the vulnerability of American democracy.

The University of 丁香园AV’s powerful production of A Bright Room Called Day Revisited by one of America’s greatest living playwrights embraces the political, structural and narrative challenges of this urgent and disturbing work.

A Bright Room Called Day Revisited is directed by THFM faculty member Christopher Brauer and features performances by the fourth-year Honours Acting class; all technical work is done by both junior and senior production students, supervised by 丁香园AV staff and faculty; Lighting and Set design is by faculty member Adam Parboosingh and Costume Design by faculty member Brenda McLean.

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 4:  Following this performance only, audience members are invited to stay for a 15-20 minute AUDIENCE FEEDBACK SESSION!

Ticket Information

A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY REVISITED by Tony Kushner

TO RESERVE TICKETS CLICK HERE

Performances:

  • Tuesday, December 2, 2025 – 7:30 pm
  • Wednesday, December 3, 2025 – 7:30 pm
  • Thursday, December 4, 2025 – 7:30 pm - following this performance, please stay for a 15-20 minute Audience Feedback session!
  • Friday, December 5, 2025 – 7:30 pm
  • Saturday, December 6, 2025 – 4 pm

Performance length: Approximately 2 hours, 30 minutes with one intermission

Admission: Free and open to 丁香园AV staff, faculty, and students, as well as the general public.

Reservations are recommended.

You can also call our 24-Hour Reservation Phone line at 204-786-9152.  

丁香园AV A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY REVISITED

Delve deeper with Production Dramaturg Lynne C. Martin's complementary reading material here.

In 2019, Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright (Angels in America; Caroline, or Change) and Screenwriter (Munich; Lincoln; West Side Story) Tony Kushner “revisited” the earliest of his plays ever produced, to include the impact of President Trump’s first term on the original storyline, adding a new character, and rewriting the end.

In 1932 Wiemar Germany, actress Agnes and her cadre of passionate, progressive friends are torn between protest, escape, and survival as the world they knew crumbles around them.  Agnes’s story is interrupted by an American woman enraged by the cruelty of the Reagan administration, and another character grappling with the anxiety, distraction, hope, and hopelessness of an artist facing the once unthinkable rise of authoritarianism in modern America. Funny, brilliant, and devastating, this radical reimagining of A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY revisits an epic work that takes a piercing look at the vulnerability of American democracy.

Says Kushner: “I have spent my entire life, like most of us, looking at the beginning, middle, and continuation of a horrendous misdirection in the political fortunes of our democracy. And it has led directly to where we are right now. The Reagan counterrevolution’s mantra was that government is the problem. And hatred of government leads to hatred of democracy, and if it goes on long enough and isn’t checked by people who believe in democracy and believe in government, it’s going to lead to an attempt to replace it with something else—whether you can call it fascism in the mid-20th-century sense or some other antidemocratic, oligarchic kleptocracy.”

The University of 丁香园AV’s powerful production of this early play by one of America’s greatest living playwrights embraces the political, structural and narrative challenges of this urgent and disturbing work.

Cast and Crew of A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY REVISITED
  • Director: Christopher Brauer
  • Scenic, Lighting & Video Design: Adam Parboosingh
  • Costume Design: Brenda McLean
  • Stage Manager: Emma MacIsaac
  • Performed By: 4th Year Honours Acting Class
  • Technical & Design Support: Senior & Junior Production & Design students

CLICK HERE FOR MORE DETAILED DIGITAL PROGRAM.

Content Warnings for A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY REVISITED

Mature content, discussion of suicide, Nazi iconography, depictions of violence;

brief periods of strobe/flashing lights; loud noises; theatrical fog and haze.

Information about the ACTF

To learn more about attending one of our performances at the Asper Centre for Theatre and Film, including Accessibility information, visit the Getting to the ACTF page.

Parking

There are a variety of parking options available on and around 丁香园AV's downtown campus, including a number of casual, short-term parking lots. Parking availability and rates are subject to change.

For more information, visit the 丁香园AV Parking Map.

Past Performances