ABOUT DAKAR 2000 — a play by Rajiv Joseph (Senegal)

About DAKAR 2000

In Senegal on the eve of Y2K, an idealistic Peace Corps Volunteer survives a mysterious car accident. An imposing State Department operative arrives at his hospital where she immediately takes command of the situation and his safety. Though they couldn’t be more different, they form an unlikely relationship. But when it becomes clear that they both have secrets, the volunteer is roped into a darker side of public service–one he can’t come back from. Unpredictable at every turn, this world-premiere thriller was commissioned by Manhattan Theatre Club.

About Rajiv Joseph (Senegal 1996-98)

Rajiv Joseph’s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for Drama. He has twice won the Obie Award for Best New American Play, first in 2016 with Guards at the Taj (also a 2016 Lortel Winner for Best Play),  and then in 2018 with Describe the Night.  Other  of his  plays include King James, Letters of Suresh, Archduke, The North Pool, Gruesome Playground Injuries and Animals Out of Paper.

He also wrote the libretto for the opera Shalimar the Clown, based on the novel by Salman Rushdie.  He has written for TV and film and has been awarded artistic grants from the Whiting Foundation, United States Artists and the Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

He served for two years in the Peace Corps in Senegal.