Dakar 2000

A DRAMATISTS PLAY SERVICE TITLE

Dakar 2000

Full-Length Play, Drama  /  1w, 1m

In Senegal on the eve of Y2K, an Peace Corps volunteer and a State Department operative form an unlikely relationship after a mysterious car accident. Both have secrets, and the volunteer is roped into a darker side of public service – and decide how far he is willing to go for what’s right.

Image: 2025 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    1w, 1m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Mystery/Thriller
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary

Boubs is serving as a Peace Corps volunteer in Senegal and is a little fed up with all the red tape. The morning after he crashes a supply truck that he has filled with misappropriated goods to aid a local village's gardening group, he is reprimanded by Dina, the seasoned U.S. security agent now in charge in Dakar. She presents the smooth talker with an ultimatum: a one-way ticket back to the States or a make-good mission. Smitten with Dina and desperate to make an impact, Boubs jumps at the chance to redeem himself. But as Dina’s assignments and his feelings for her escalate, he unexpectedly finds himself in a moral dilemma, where he must decide how far he is willing to go to do what is right.

History

Dakar 2000 premiered off-Broadway at New York City Center’s Stage I on February 27, 2025. 

Cast Attributes
Performing Groups

BOUBS – 25. Pronounced “Boobs,” short for Boubacar.
DINA STEVENS – 40s-50s.

Both characters can be any race. Dina states that she is 46, but she can be aged up (not down) as needed.

Both characters can be any race. Dina states that she is 46, but she can be aged up (not down) as needed.

  • Time Period Contemporary, New Millennium/21st Century
  • Setting

    Senegal. Y2K.

  • Features Contemporary Costumes/Street Clothes
  • Additional Features No Intermission
  • Duration 90 minutes
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes
    • Violence

Media

“Gripping!” – New York Theatre Guide

“All the intrigue and duplicity, thirst for revenge, guileful indifference to the truth, absence of empathy for others and collateral damage to the innocent in Dakar 2000 leave us wondering if 2000 truly was the beginning of the Apocalypse. It’s a theme that resonates in the current state of our country, the world and humanity.” – DC Theater Arts

“Gripping! [The] personal and the professional overlap, taking on a new intensity, one that’s hard to describe without spoiling the play’s whirlwind of surprises.” – New York Theatre Guide

Videos

  • Meet the Cast of ‘Dakar 2000’ youtube thumbnail

    Meet the Cast of ‘Dakar 2000’

  • Dakar 2000 Manhattan Theatre Club Trailer youtube thumbnail

    Dakar 2000 Manhattan Theatre Club Trailer

Photos

  • Dakar 2000

    Image: 2025 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

  • Dakar 2000

    Image: 2025 Manhattan Theatre Club Production (Matthew Murphy for MurphyMade)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £85 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

Available Formats:

Authors

Rajiv Joseph

Rajiv Joseph’s play Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo was a 2010 Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama and also awarded a grant for Outstanding New American Play by the National Endowment for the Arts. His play Guards at the Taj was a 2016 Obie winner for Best New American Play and ...

View full profile

Now Playing