Nocturne

Finalist for the William Saroyan International Prize for Writing

"Fifteen years ago I killed my sister." So begins Adam Rapp's highly acclaimed play Nocturne, in which a thirty-two-year-old former piano prodigy recounts the tragic events that tore his family apart. With a keen eye for human relationships and a deft ear for language, Rapp explores the aftershock of this unimaginable event. The father is so incapable of forgiveness he puts a gun in his son's mouth; the mother so shattered, she deserts the family and eventually loses her sanity altogether; the son—only seventeen years old at the time—sets out for New York City. There, he seeks an uneasy refuge in books and reinvents himself as a writer. Across the decade and a half that follows he tries to cope with the ramifications of his own anguish and estrangement while making a desperate search for redemption. A devastating, elegant, and gripping dissection of the American dream, Nocturne signals a brave new voice in American theater.

Praise

"A startling, unnverving work of art that fiercely pushes the boundaries of theater . . . Rapp is an original—a distinctive voice . . . Nocturne will haunt you for a long time."—Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

"A brilliant, terrifying, perceptive, occasionally funny play . . . bold, daring and successful."—Donald Lyons, New York Post

"Adam Rapp's Nocturne is remarkable enough to bear comparisons with Margaret Edson's award-winning Wit . . . Here [is] a playwright . . . to watch with keen interest."—Markland Taylor, Variety

"Nothing can nullify the horror contained within this play's opening sentence: 'Fifteen years ago I killed my sister' . . . Rapp, winner of many awards for his plays and young adult novels, has created a poignant and sensitive play about lost lives."—Bob Ivey, University of Memphis, Library Journal

About the Author(s)

Adam Rapp

Adam Rapp is the author of numerous plays and young adult novels. He lives in New York City.

photo: art by George O'Connor

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Excerpt

Nocturne
IFifteen years ago I killed my sister. 
There. 
I said it. 
I can change the order of the words. My sister I killed fifteen years ago. I, fifteen years ago, killed my sister. Sister my killed I years ago fifteen. 
I can cite various definitions. To deprive of life: The farmer killed the rabid dog. To put an end to: The umpire killed the tennis match.

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