Description

A man and a woman enter a room. We see only a small bed, two chairs, and a table. Is it an asylum? A prison? Interrogation room? Questions are asked and answered. We feel we know the story. In this room, both the man and woman are faced with the truths of their lives. Playwright Ariel Dorfman puts before us the question of justice and forgiveness. Are there crimes for which there can be no forgiveness? If there is no forgiveness, how do we move on with our lives? Purgatorio reacquaints us with the tragedy of Jason and Medea.

Perhaps no ancient tale has inspired more debate or provoked more horror. Through Dorfman’s evocative language and keen understanding of humanity, we see the story anew through his crystalline lens. The play is a charged, poetic inquiry into human relationships that dangles the possibility of redemption just out of reach.