CUT-A Blasphemy

by Nikki Massoud

A riveting, darkly comic encounter between the legendary Samson and the Philistine Delilah, who beguiles him with her wit, her fury as an outsider and her skills at bondage. How deeply embedded is our sense of insider privilege and how does it blind us?

A riveting, darkly comic encounter between the legendary Samson and the Philistine Delilah, who beguiles him with her wit, her fury as an outsider and her skills at bondage. How deeply embedded is our sense of insider privilege and how does it blind us?

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CUT-A Blasphemy

Recommended by

  • Francisco Mendoza: CUT-A Blasphemy by Nikki Massoud
    “

    This reinterpretation of the biblical story of Samson and Delilah is a stunning playwriting debut! In a recent talkback for a presentation of the play at Bard At The Gate, Massoud talked about how, as an actress, she has internalized language in her body, which informs the way she writes—and you can definitely sense that in CUT, which lives up to its title in visceral scenes that will turn you on, terrify you, and leave a knot in your throat all at once.

    This reinterpretation of the biblical story of Samson and Delilah is a stunning playwriting debut! In a recent talkback for a presentation of the play at Bard At The Gate, Massoud talked about how, as an actress, she has internalized language in her body, which informs the way she writes—and you can definitely sense that in CUT, which lives up to its title in visceral scenes that will turn you on, terrify you, and leave a knot in your throat all at once.

    ”
2 MENA women, 2 White men
Casting Breakdown:
DELILAH: A Woman. With a capital “W.” Warm. Hungry. Angry. Alive. Can hold a grudge for a thousand years. Can talk a goldfish into a toilet bowl. Rarely surprised. Knows her worth. An animal who has already gnawed off one of her limbs to get out of a trap. MENA.
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SAMSON: A Killer. A True Believer. Ripped a lion apart with his bare hands and never talked about it until he had to. Can’t give compliments but would reach into a beehive to give you some honey as a present. Wary and weary. Knows that he is both a Miracle and an overloaded pack horse. Knows he has missed a lot. His ancestry falls somewhere within the variety of ethnicities that we now define as “WHITE.”
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EMILY: A Survivor. An Iron Butterfly. Steel covered in velvet. A Beauty pageant winner. Looks like The American Dream—sunshine, fresh cut grass, the 1950s. Can fit in anywhere. Can endure anything. Can make anyone comfortable. The kind of neighbor who will come over when you are sick and bring you a casserole and help put your kids to bed. A mother so dedicated and fierce that she is almost feral. A MENA woman who is doing her best to pass as what we now define as WHITE.
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GABE/THE STAGE MANAGER: A Bureacrat. A Messenger. A Foreman in The Dream
Factory.

Development History

  • Reading, The Lark, 2021
  • Workshop, City Artist Corps Grant, 2021
  • Workshop, The Coop, 2020

Awards

  • FMM Fellowship for Works in Heightened Language
    Synechdoche Works
    Finalist
    2021