The Revisionist, the second play by the award-winning actor and regular New Yorker contributor Jesse Eisenberg, is a stunning exploration of obsession, secrets, and the nature of family. The play had its world premiere at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York in spring 2013, starring Jesse Eisenberg and Vanessa Redgrave and directed by Kip Fagan.
In The Revisionist, young writer David arrives in Poland with a crippling case of writer’s block and a desire to be left alone. His seventy-five-year-old second cousin Maria welcomes him with a fervent need to connect with her distant American family. As their relationship develops, she reveals details about her postwar past that test their ideas of what it means to be a family.
“Beguilingly layered . . . something to paste into your memory book of strange, wonderful and utterly unmatchable moments at the theater.”—New York Times
“[Eisenberg] has a wry ear and a knack for unsentimental poignancy that keeps The Revisionist emotionally compelling. And to his credit, he avoids the tidy, comforting ending.”—USA Today
“A quirky and … heartbreaking meditation on the meaning of family, both across the generations and across the globe.”—Associated Press
“A potent consideration of the nature of family . . . The Revisionist proves [Eisenberg] to be an imaginative playwright who’s not afraid to ask his audience to work.”—Backstage
“The Revisionist, a tightly structured, deeply human play about the truthful mess of human experience, represents the best of what theatre as an art form can be.”—Exeunt Magazine
“A rewarding account of cultural collision that yields unexpected reflections on the centrality of family in our lives – whether we idealize them or take them for granted. . . . As a playwright, Eisenberg’s intentions seem clear. He takes a critical swipe at himself, and by extension, his entitled generation.”—Hollywood Reporter
