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THE INTERVIEW

At what point does ordinary life require justification to continue unchanged?

Contemporary Drama 75 minutes No Intermission 3 Actors
Visit Show Website: theinterviewplay.net →

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📄 Synopsis (PDF) 📋 Scene Overview (PDF) 📖 Full Script (PDF)

✓ Available for Production & Development

Contact for scripts, licensing, and production inquiries: rdedds@hotmail.com

📄 Download One-Page Overview (PDF)

Synopsis

"When Privacy Becomes Suspicious"

Michael Porter is 62, widowed, and living alone. He's managing fine—until the system decides otherwise.

When enough people express concern about Michael's "withdrawal," a mandatory wellness review is triggered. What begins as a routine conversation becomes a methodical examination of his right to live quietly.

Sara Chen and David Reese are here to help—whether Michael wants help or not. Over 75 minutes in real time, Michael discovers that his solitude, his missed appointments, his preference for quiet have all become evidence in a case he didn't know was being built.

THE INTERVIEW asks: Who decides when independence becomes inability? When does care become control? And what happens when you can't prove you're fine—only that you want to be left alone?

In a single institutional room with one table and three chairs, this taut psychological drama examines personal autonomy vs. institutional oversight. The surveillance state disguised as care.

Characters

MICHAEL PORTER
62, Widowed
Living alone after his wife's death. Quiet, private, managing well—but his independence is being questioned. Not combative, not confused, just someone who values solitude. His ordinariness becomes suspicious.
SARA CHEN
Late 30s-40s
Lead interviewer. Calm, methodical, empathetic—and absolutely relentless. She genuinely believes she's helping. Her kindness makes the interrogation more effective, not less.
DAVID REESE
40s-50s
Secondary interviewer. Takes notes, observes patterns, asks clarifying questions. Less overtly empathetic than Sara, more clinical. Represents the bureaucratic machinery behind wellness reviews.

Themes & Questions

  • Autonomy vs. Oversight: At what point does society have the right to intervene in how someone chooses to live? Who decides when independence becomes inability?
  • Care as Control: When does genuine concern transform into institutional control? How does "helping" become indistinguishable from surveillance?
  • Privacy as Privilege: Michael's desire to be left alone is treated as evidence of decline. His ordinariness becomes suspicious.
  • The Burden of Proof: Michael can't prove he's fine—he can only show he wants solitude. The system demands justification for living quietly.
  • Real-Time Pressure: The 75-minute runtime mirrors the interview itself. The audience experiences the same mounting pressure Michael feels.

Production Information

Cast & Technical Requirements

  • Cast Size: 3 actors (2F or 1F/1M for interviewers, 1M for Michael)
  • Setting: Single institutional room. One table, three chairs. Sparse, clinical
  • Runtime: 75 minutes, real time, no intermission
  • Style: Naturalistic, psychological realism
  • Special Element: The interview unfolds in real time—what the audience experiences is what Michael experiences

Staging Notes

  • Minimal set allows focus on performance and dialogue
  • Lighting can subtly shift to reflect Michael's mounting pressure
  • Silence and pauses are crucial—the weight of being watched
  • No flashbacks, no cuts away—audience stays in the room

Target Audience

  • Adult contemporary theater audiences
  • Those interested in civil liberties and privacy rights
  • Aging populations navigating institutional systems
  • Regional theaters seeking intimate, powerful drama
  • Black box and small theater spaces (ideal for this show)

Why This Play Matters Now

  • Explores growing tension between individual autonomy and institutional oversight
  • Examines how care systems can become surveillance systems
  • Questions who has the right to define "normal" living
  • Asks whether privacy is a right or a privilege that must be justified
  • Timely examination of how good intentions can enable control
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