The Destruction (Bigtan and Teresh Are Dead)

by Michal Richardson

Bigtan and Teresh, two extremely minor characters from the Book of Esther, emerge from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem to find themselves exiled, lovelorn, and pawns in someone else’s story. Will they let their calamity define them? Unmask them? Or will they shatter unassailable narrative forces to rewrite their own fate?

Bigtan and Teresh, two extremely minor characters from the Book of Esther, emerge from the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem to find themselves exiled, lovelorn, and pawns in someone else’s story. Will they let their calamity define them? Unmask them? Or will they shatter unassailable narrative forces to rewrite their own fate?

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The Destruction (Bigtan and Teresh Are Dead)

Recommended by

  • Ian Thal: The Destruction (Bigtan and Teresh Are Dead) by Michal Richardson
    “

    An absurdist midrashic tragicomedy about the execution of two minor characters in one of two books of the Bible in which God is not mentioned is a whole other Megillah! What choice do they have in becoming plot device in a text read every year on Purim? What happens when they realize that their ends have already been inscribed? Richardson gives Bigtan and Teresh backstories that connect them to better known characters as Mordechai, Vashti, and Esther, and historical events.

    An absurdist midrashic tragicomedy about the execution of two minor characters in one of two books of the Bible in which God is not mentioned is a whole other Megillah! What choice do they have in becoming plot device in a text read every year on Purim? What happens when they realize that their ends have already been inscribed? Richardson gives Bigtan and Teresh backstories that connect them to better known characters as Mordechai, Vashti, and Esther, and historical events.

    ”

Character Information

Both Bigtan and Teresh are referred to as men throughout, but they don’t necessarily have to be portrayed by men, or as men.
  • Bigtan
  • Teresh
  • Mordechai
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
  • Vashti
  • Sura

Awards

  • 12th National Jewish Playwriting Contest
    Jewish Plays Project
    Semi-Finalist
    2022