The Lifespan of a Fact

Jim Fingal is a fresh-out-of-Harvard fact checker for a prominent but sinking New York magazine. John D’Agata is a talented writer with a transcendent essay about the suicide of a teenage boy—an essay that could save the magazine from collapse. When Jim is assigned to fact check D’Agata’s essay, the two come head to head in a comedic yet gripping battle over facts versus truth.

“…terrifically funny dialogue…once the writer and the fact-checker get into a lively debate on the ethics of factual truth vs. the beauty of literary dishonesty, it’s time to really sit up and listen…Their deadly serious but oh-so-funny ethical dispute is brilliantly argued…the debate at the heart of this play transcends comedy and demands serious attention.” —Variety.

“…buoyantly literate…wholly resonant questions [are] wrestled with in this briskly entertaining play…you’ll find yourself happy to have your preconceptions disturbed and assumptions unsettled.” —Washington Post.

“[THE LIFESPAN OF A FACT] moves with the ticking-clock urgency the situation demands, yet finds appropriate moments to breathe and let us ruminate on the personal, professional and moral issues at stake…[an] ingenious adaptation of the sui generis book of the same name…” —Hollywood Reporter.