Actually

At a raucous party during their freshman year at Princeton, Tom and Amber connect in ways that seem innocent enough at first. But as things progress, they find themselves in murky territory, with ramifications that could affect the rest of their lives.

What actually happened between them?

Actually explores the difficult question of how to define the point at which sex ceases to be consensual. Tom, a black music student, and Amber, a shy Jewish student, each make their case, addressing the audience, not one another. Each has their own version of what they believe to be true. They give evidence to a Campus Committee which is ill-equipped to handle such cases.

Actually has been described as an extraordinary piece of theatre. The brilliance in Ziegler’s writing is in its ability to explore the issue of each character’s history, mixed with gender politics, social class and race to indicate the unconscious desires that influenced their actions on the night.