Tape

Tape is a 1999 play by Stephen Belber. The piece premiered and was produced by Access Theater in Tribeca, NY in 1999. Next it was produced at the Actors Theatre of Louisville as part of the 2000 Humana Festival of New American Plays. It was later filmed by Richard Linklater as Tape starring Ethan Hawke, Robert Sean Leonard, and Uma Thurman. It follows classical unities of action, time and space, featuring three characters in a single plot regarding their differing perspectives of past events, in one unbroken period of real-time, in a single motel room set. Synopsis Tape is set in a motel room in Lansing, Michigan. Vince, an outgoing drug dealer/volunteer firefighter, is in town to support his old high school friend's entry into the Lansing film festival. His friend, documentary filmmaker Jon Saltzman, joins Vince in his motel room and the two begin to reminisce about their high school years. They get on the subject of Amy Randall, Vince's former girlfriend. It appears that whilst they dated for some time, Vince and Amy never had sex. However, after their relationship had ended, Amy had slept with Jon. Naturally, Vince was hurt even though he and Amy had broken up some time previously. Vince claims Amy had told him that Jon had date raped her. Vince becomes obsessed with, and eventually succeeds in getting a verbal confession from Jon about the alleged rape. Immediately after Jon's admission, Vince pulls out a hidden tape recorder that had been recording their whole conversation, much to Jon's horror. Vince then tells Jon that he has invited Amy to dinner, and that she will be arriving shortly.