When Blood Ran Red

When Blood Ran Red, written by Montreal-based playwright Ben Gonshor, is an historical drama inspired by true events. A new, award-winning work that chronicles the darkest era in the Soviet Union, when former wartime heroes of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee were persecuted as enemies of the state for daring to report on the truth of the Holocaust in the German-occupied East. When Blood Ran Red gives an account of the friendships between African-American actor and civil rights activist Paul Robeson and leading Soviet Jews after World War II, during the brutal reign of Josef Stalin. The driving point of the action deals with the removal of the Russian Yiddish theatre and purge of Yiddish and Jewish culture and life in the Stalin era. Following a chain of events set off with the assassination of Solomon Mikhoels, the head of the Moscow State Jewish Theater and Chairman of the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, the play follows Robeson as he journeys to Russia, deemed an enemy of the state by the McCarthy-era "House Committee on Un-American Activities." Having befriended leaders of the Soviet Jewish Movement, Robeson finds himself at the center of a genocidal KGB conspiracy. The story weaves together a tale of suspense, mystery and intrigue-where truth is relative, loyalties are questioned at every turn, and justice is only achieved by paying the ultimate sacrifice.

Format: Full Length. Drama

Cast Size:7M, 2W

Original or Prominent Production:
The National Yiddish Theatre Folksbiene (NYTF)

Original Source Material: Based on real like events

Original Language: English

Experience(s) Chronicled: