This tool is unavailable at the moment. Please try again later.
Start planning your production with a cost estimate you can save and share with your team. Just answer a few questions.
This estimator is only for amateur productions. Professional customers should contact the Licensing department directly to enquire about a title's availability: [email protected]
Important: The cost quoted is an estimate only and may differ when you apply for a licence.
A DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE TITLE
Full-Length Play, Drama / 1w, 2m
Jonathan Spector
Jumping back and forth through space and time, This Much I Know explores decisions, control, power and understanding.
Lukesh is a professor who knows exactly how humans operate. He literally teaches the subject. But when the son of a white supremacist asks Lukesh to sponsor his thesis, and more personally, when his wife Natalya ups and leaves for Russia, Lukesh struggles to make sense of everything with his typical black-and-white understanding of the human brain. He is faced with an ultimatum: think about life in a new light, or sink. Jumping back and forth through time, This Much I Know weaves in stories of Svetlana Alliluyeva – Stalin’s daughter – who has become disillusioned with her father’s ideas and considers defecting to the United States. Her story mirrors the story of Lukesh, Natalya and his student Harold; their parallel journeys explore how a person changes their mind, if we are responsible for things we cannot control, and after it all, if something that was once submerged can still float.
This Much I Know was originally produced at Aurora Theater in Berkeley, California, in September 2022.
A/LUKESH – Male, 50s, South Asian. Speaks with a British accent. Also plays Joseph Stalin, Brajesh Singh, and ensemble.B/NATALYA – Female, 30s-40s. Any ethnicity. Speaks with a nondescript American accent. Also plays Svetlana Alliluyeva (daughter of Joseph Stalin).C/HAROLD – Male, late teens/early 20s. White. Speaks with a nondescript American accent. Also plays lots of ensemble.
A lecture hall, which transports us into the past.
“A masterfully built puzzle-drama.” – The Washington Post
“This Much I Know is a three-hander with the oomph of an Oppenheimer… A masterfully built puzzle-drama that pursues an entertaining, emotional and surprisingly energizing inquiry into how and how well we can ever know anything – even about ourselves.” – Washington Post
“This much I know about Jonathan Spector’s enthralling and exhilarating This Much I Know: It’s a head trip and a half… A visionary script.” – DC Theater Arts
This Much I Know – Jonathan Spector Interview
This Much I Know – Aurora Theatre Trailer
Jonathan Spector is a Tony Award-winning playwright based in Oakland, California, whose work has been produced on and off-Broadway, regionally and internationally. His plays include Eureka Day (2025 Best Revival: Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Drama League Award & Dorian Award ...