Guards At The Taj
by Rajiv Joseph

Off-Broadway
Guards At The Taj Book Cover
Guards At The Taj Cover

Highlights

75 mins 17th Century All Men Unit Set/Multiple Settings Period Costumes American Historical Comedy

Awards & Recognition

Lucille Lortel Award Obie Award

Winner! 2016 Obie Award for Best New American Play Winner! 2016 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play

Synopsis

THE STORY: In 1648 India, two Imperial Guards watch from their post as the sun rises for the first time on the newly-completed Taj Mahal—an event that shakes their respective worlds.

When they are ordered to perform an unthinkable task, the aftermath forces them to question the concepts of friendship, beauty, and duty, and changes them forever.

Press Reviews

"Absorbing… Raises potent questions about the human price paid throughout history for the caprices of the mighty, even when they result in architectural wonders that ultimately give pleasure to the masses."

— The New York Times

"In his strikingly original drama Guards at the Taj, Rajiv Joseph entrusts the romantic legend of the Taj Mahal to two lowly palace guards. Meanwhile, the playwright’s amusingly anachronistic idiom… keeps us entertained – and totally unprepared for some shocking plot turns."

— The New Yorker

"Rajiv Joseph gives us plenty to admire in his play… He hooks us quickly. He surprises with tonal shifts, jumping from The Odd Couple breezy to Game of Thrones ghastly. He creates compelling and sympathetic characters."

— New York Daily News

"Beauty doesn’t come easily in Rajiv Joseph’s wildly unsettling Guards at the Taj. Things begin comfortably… By its second scene, Guards has veered savagely from its funny, gently puzzled, Waiting for Godot-ish beginnings into grotesque brutality, inspired by a legend of the Taj Mahal’s creation: Imagine Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead as written by Martin McDonagh, then add a whole lot more blood."

— Time Out New York

Characters

Character
Babur
Humayun

Videos

Guards at the Taj – Steppenwolf Theatre Company Sneak Peek

Publication

Year 2015
Binding Paperback
Pages 47
Language English
ISBN-13 9780822233350
ISBN-10 0822233355
LCC PS3610.O669 G83 2015

Guards At The Taj is a American historical play written by Rajiv Joseph and published by Dramatists Play Service (2015).

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Rating

4.3

192 ratings · 468 reviews

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Performance Rights

Available for Licensing
Amateur & Professional
Fee: Minimum Fee: $110 per performance

Restrictions: Major Markets Plus (US) / Standard Plus Add'l Postcodes (UK)

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