The one-night-only performance of A Bright Room Called Day will be held Friday at the Carl Cappa Theater in the Jackson Center, located at 305 E. Fourth Street. P-J photo by Michael Zabrodsky

To honor the International Military Tribunal held in Nuremberg from 1945 to 1946, Madness Most Discreet in collaboration with Robert H. Jackson Center and Jamestown Justice Coalition will stage a reading of A Bright Room Called Day by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Tony Kushner.

The one-night-only performance will be held Friday at the Carl Cappa Theater in the Jackson Center, located at 305 E. Fourth Street.

“We begin marking the 80th anniversary of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg in late November, said Jackson Center President Kristan McMahon. “This play helps give context to the growing pressures, challenges, and impact on society leading into and during World War II. It provides insight to understand why the trials were so critical.”

Set in 1930s Berlin, A Bright Room Called Day follows five artists navigating the disintegration of the Weimar Republic as fascism rises to power.

Madness Most Discreet Founder Emily Drew said the collective often performs classical texts, but when not rehearsing a Shakespeare play, the collective reads many plays aloud together.

“We all bring suggestions to our rehearsals and read through plays simply for the creative experience,” Drew said.

A Bright Room Called Day came to the collective that way, Drew said.

“I suggested we read it in rehearsal because it’s a beautiful and thought-provoking play that, unfortunately, feels very timely in our current political climate,” Drew added. “After reading it together, we realized that these words deserve to be spoken aloud and discussed.”

As the characters in the play grapple with the rise of fascism, Kushner parallels Reagan Era political ideology. A surrealist exploration of resistance in the face of societal catastrophe, A Bright Room Called Day challenges audiences to confront the question of political responsibility and the cost of political denial.

Following the performance, audience members are invited to join a panel discussion and

talkback exploring the play’s urgent themes of resistance, political responsibility, and the cyclical nature of the progressive to authoritarian transformation. The post-show conversation will be

moderated by Justin Hubbard of the Jamestown Justice Coalition, and will feature McMahon, and Madness Most Discreet’s artists: Rusty Allen, Emily

Drew, Matthew McWilliams, and Julie Reed engaging in dialogue with the audience.

“With our audiences, we often see that experiencing history through artistic interpretation hits differently,” McMahon said. “It can and does lead to asking different questions and resonates with each audience member in a unique way.”

Drew noted that in May, the collective was host to an invited reading of the play in Jamestown, and engage in conversation with the audience.

“The overwhelming consensus after that event was that more people should hear these words and have the opportunity to reflect on their relevance today,” Drew said.

The play, Drew said, is rich with ideas and themes that feel more urgent than ever.

“At Madness Most Discreet, we believe that part of our duty as artists is to bring both beauty and pain to light, to ask questions, and to spark dialogue. This play certainly does all of that. We’re thrilled at the opportunity to partner with the Robert H. Jackson Center and Jamestown Justice Coalition to engage our community and continue asking important questions together,” Drew said.

Madness Most Discreet is a New York-based professional theater company dedicated to

producing bold, engaging works that challenge audiences to think about the world around them.

All work by Madness Most Discreet is free for all forever, Drew said.

Doors for this free event will open at 6 p.m., and there will be light refreshments offered prior to the reading which will begin at 6:30 p.m. The play will run two hours including a short intermission. The talk back will follow the reading.