Downstate (play)

Downstate is a 2018 tragicomedy play by Bruce Norris about a group house for sex offenders. It premiered at Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago and has received acclaim from critics and criticism from conservatives who have accused it of promoting pedophilia.

Characters

• Fred, a genial former piano teacher who raped two of his students^[1]
• Andy, one of Fred's former students, now a well-off adult^[2]
• Em, Andy's assertive wife^[3]
• Dee, a charismatic former performer who had a sexual relationship with a 14-year-old boy^[2]
• Ivy, the offenders' probation officer^[1]
• Felix, a shy Hispanic man who molested his preteen daughter^[4]
• Gio, a smarmy 30-something who committed statutory rape^[1]
• Effie, Gio's girlfriend^[5]

Synopsis

Four men who have been convicted of sex offenses and completed their prison sentences but remain on the sex offender registry live in a group home in downstate Illinois in the present. One, Fred, is confronted by his former student Andy and the latter's wife, Em when they come to visit. Fred comes off as apologetic and the couple departs, but Andy leaves behind his phone. The men learn from their probation officer, Ivy, that a no-go zone around a school has been expanded, threatening their access to a supermarket. Ivy also speaks to Felix, revealing that he violated his parole by using a computer in a public library to see pictures of his daughter (whom he molested) on Facebook.

When Andy returns to pick up his phone, he and Fred have another conversation. Fred, who uses a wheelchair, explains that he was beaten by a "vigilante" while in prison. Andy then asks him to sign a confession, but Fred refuses and says that his memory of events is unclear, and that in any case, he has suffered enough. When Andy persists, the other residents come to Fred's defense and a fight breaks out. Felix is later found to have hanged himself from a ceiling fan in his room.

Productions

Set of the Studio Theatre production

The play was written by Bruce Norris (who previously won a Pulitzer Prize for Clybourne Park) and co-commissioned by Steppenwolf and the National Theatre. Steppenwolf had to hire additional security for its run after it received threats.^[6]

• Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, 2018^[1]
• Royal National Theatre, London, 2019^[7]
• Playwright Horizons, New York City, 2022^[2]
• Studio Theatre, Washington, D.C., 2025^[8][9]

Reception

The play has received near-universal acclaim from established critics, but attracted criticism from conservatives online.^[10] Jesse Green designated the 2018 production a critic's pick for The New York Times. He wrote: "Downstate is finally about the anarchic spirit of revenge, so understandable and yet so antithetical to justice. Mr. Norris is warning us to consider what may follow in the wake of even a healthy purging if the avengers are just as abusive as the abusers. It’s a lot to stomach, and rightly so."^[1] Michael Billington rated the 2019 production four out of five stars for The Guardian, praising the "visceral power to the performances". However, he criticized the character of Andy as overwritten.^[7] It was nominated for best play at the 65th Evening Standard Theatre Awards.^[11]

Avatar of Ted Cruz	Ted Cruz	Twitter
	@tedcruz

So now the corporate media is praising pedophilia….

Nov 28, 2022^[12]

Avatar of The Washington Post	The Washington Post	Twitter
	@washingtonpost

Review: “Downstate” is a play about pedophiles. It’s also brilliant. https://wapo.st/3EFrt3A

Nov 27, 2022^[13]

Laura Collins-Hughes designated the 2022 production a Times critic's pick, writing, "This deep, dark tragicomedy pokes and prods at our compassion, checks the pulse on our sense of justice, taps our reflex response to charm."^[2] Peter Marks described it, writing for The Washington Post, as "a stunning demonstration of the power of narrative art to tackle a taboo".^[14] Conservative Twitter users criticized the play and Marks' review.^[10][6] U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (who is not known to have seen the play^[8]) tweeted, "So now the corporate media is praising pedophilia".^[10] Playbill characterized the criticism as part of a conservative panic about pedophilia as a facet of its opposition to LGBTQ rights.^[10]

In 2023, Downstate won the New York Drama Critics' Circle award for best play.^[15] The following year, it won the Obie Award for playwriting.^[16] Covering the 2025 production for the Post, Naveen Kumar wrote, "it’s tempting to say Norris goes too far in trying to humanize characters who have done despicable things, and I wouldn’t blame anyone for saying so. But what he achieves here is more sophisticated than that, tugging at the threads of our moral convictions until they’re all tangled up at our feet."^[8]