Describe the Night

Describe the Night at Shelton Auditorium At Butler Arts Center

Seven lives and ninety years of Russian history form a mystery about who controls the truth. In Describe the Night, Southbank Theatre brings Rajiv Joseph's play to Shelton Auditorium at Butler Arts Center in Indianapolis, and the question at its center is a sharp one: who gets to decide what really happened? This thriller ties together seven people across ninety years of Russian history, from 1920 to 2010. It also makes for a mystery with real hooks.

The play links writer Isaac Babel's 1920 experiences, a KGB agent in Dresden decades later, and the 2010 Smolensk air disaster. Truth, propaganda, memory, myth and conspiracy shape the dramatic connections, so you're invited to follow the threads as private lives collide with enormous political forces. Think of it as a puzzle built from human stakes. The presenter also identifies the work as an Obie Award winner, a good sign that this is a play with ideas worth chasing.

The November 15, 2026 performance begins at 2:00 PM, the closing day of a run that stretches from November 5–15. That makes it a natural Sunday outing for anyone who wants theater with some bite. You can walk out with a story still working on you. Maybe you'll argue about how history gets told. Maybe you'll just sit quietly in the car, replaying what you saw. Either way, it beats another forgettable weekend. Pick your seats for Describe the Night at Shelton Auditorium, and secure your place at the Indianapolis performance here.