(via Emily Owens; Photo of Laura Zlatos.)
Written by Laura Zlatos
Directed by Tom Costello
Opening Saturday, October 17
October 15-November 8
The Tank (Artistic Director’s Meghan Finn and Johnny G. Lloyd) with support from Mateo King West will present the World Premiere of Show Trial, written by Laura Zlatos (Happily After Ever at 59E59), and directed by Tom Costello (And Then the Rodeo Burned Down at Ars Nova) at The Tank (312 W 36th St., New York, NY 10018), October 15-November 8.
One woman stands alone against an oppressive regime. Show Trial turns state propaganda into farce—with choreographed confessions, scripted testimony, and a healthy disregard for reality. Drawn from the real transcripts of the 1950 trial of Milada Horáková, the Czechoslovak dissident accused of treason by a regime that had already written the verdict, it’s a political satire about the choices we make when history belongs to the victors.
Show Trial was written using audio recordings of the 1950 trial, originally made by the Communist Party for propaganda purposes. However, much of the recordings were deemed unusable and were never broadcast in their entirety because lead defendant Milada Horáková repeatedly deviated from the script that was prepared for her. The recordings were subsequently suppressed and forgotten until 2005, when journalist Marek Janač discovered three reels in an unmarked box at the National Archives in Prague. For Show Trial, these recordings were transcribed and translated from Czech to English for the first time. Portions of the transcripts appear in the play verbatim, while others are satirized or omitted. The play also incorporates original sequences that embrace the absurdity of the proceedings, interwoven with surreal and imagined glimpses into Milada Horáková’s life leading up to her arrest.
Show Trial was developed with Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company in 2022 and at Divadlo Bez zábradlí, in collaboration with Prague Shakespeare Company, in Prague in 2023. It was also a 2024 Finalist for the Jane Chambers Award.
Performances will take place on:
Thursday, October 15 at 7pm (Press Preview)
Friday, October 16 at 7pm (Press Preview)
Saturday, October 17 at 7pm (Opening Night)
Monday, October 19 at 7pm
Thursday, October 22 at 7pm
Friday, October 23 at 7pm
Saturday, October 24 at 7pm
Monday, October 26 at 7pm
Thursday, October 29 at 7pm
Friday, October 30 at 7pm
Sunday, November 1 at 3pm
Monday, November 2 at 7pm
Thursday, November 5 at 7pm
Friday, November 6 at 7pm
Saturday, November 7 at 7pm
Sunday, November 8 at 3pm
Tickets are available for advance purchase at https://thetanknyc.org/
Laura Zlatos (Playwright) is a Slovak-American playwright and librettist. Her plays include Show Trial (Rehearsal for Truth International Theater Festival; Jane Chambers Prize finalist), The Blue Whale (Shawnee Playhouse; NEPTA Award for Best Writing; BroadwayWorld Philadelphia Award for Best New Play; S.O.P.S. Dramatic Play Winner; Todd McNerney Playwriting Award; Marsha A. Croyle Award), Lavinia (Women are Funny Prize), and Happily After Ever (59E59 Theaters; Edinburgh Fringe Festival; Bloomington Playwrights Project; Woodward/Newman Drama Award, The Advocate’s Top 10 NY Theater of 2016, Honorable Mention). Happily After Ever will be published by CMU Press in Fall 2027. Her musicals include The Blood Countess and A Problem with the Pattersons (CITSTS Emerging Writers Residency finalist; O’Neill Music Theatre Conference semifinalist), both written with lyricist-composer Andre Catrini. Her musical Reincarnation Blues was workshopped at The Other Palace in London and developed through the Johnny Mercer Foundation Writers Grove at Goodspeed Musicals and the Rhinebeck Writers Retreat. Laura was a Playwriting Fellow with Playhouse Creatures Theatre Company and a Resident Playwright with the Exquisite Corpse Company. Her work has also been developed at the Orchard Project, and she was a finalist for the Princess Grace Award. MFA: Playwriting, Columbia University; MA: Performance Studies, NYU. www.laurazlatos.com @
Tom Costello (Director) is a director and producer originally from Ithaca, NY. He has most recently worked with writers/performers Xhloe & Natasha as co-director since 2024, including on their run of And Then The Rodeo Burned Down at Ars Nova, the Drama Desk-Award winning runs of What If They Ate The Baby? and A Letter to Lyndon B. Johnson or God: Whoever Reads This First at SoHo Playhouse, and their Fall 2026 run of Bigfoot Ripped My Dog In Half I Saw It at SoHo Playhouse, Edinburgh Fringe and Soho Theatre in London. He was the Associate Director for the 2022 Revival of American Buffalo and has also worked as Associate and Assistant Director for numerous Off-Broadway productions. He was a Resident Director/Associate Artist at The Flea, where he directed the NYT Critic’s Pick Smoke by Kim Davies. Select credits include Sarina Freda’s no no no please no god no, nevermind i’m fine (HERE, Edinburgh Fringe, The Elysian) which he co-wrote and directed, The Witchelor by John Early & Nicole Spiezio which he co-directed with Early, Kirdle and Miffins with music, book and lyrics by Rona Siddiqui at Keen Teens. He is a Drama League Directing Fellow, Ensemble Member at EST, Former Associate Artistic Director at Pipeline Theatre Company and Former Artistic Director for Atlantic Acting School where he currently serves as a faculty member. He is also Co-Founder and Executive Producer of The Debt Gala, an accessible fashion fundraiser held the night before the Met Gala supporting medical debt-related non-profits.
Founded in 2003, The Tank is an Obie Award-winning, multi-disciplinary non-profit arts presenter and producer, which provides a home to emerging artists working across all disciplines, including theater, comedy, dance, film, music, puppetry, and storytelling. Led by Artistic Directors Meghan Finn and Johnny G. Lloyd, The Tank champions emerging artists engaged in the pursuit of new ideas and forms of expression. In doing so the company removes the economic barriers from the creation of new work for artists launching their careers and experimenting within their art form. From the company’s home with two theaters on 36th Street, The Tank serves over 2,500 artists every year, presents over 1,000 performances, and welcomes 36,000 audience members annually. The company fully produces a curated season of 8-12 theatrical World or New York premieres each season.
Artists who have developed their craft at The Tank include Tony Award-winning director Alex Timbers, Drama Desk Award-winning playwright Amy Herzog, screenwriter Lucy Alibar, comedian/actor X Mayo, online creator Julian Shapiro-Barnum, producer Kyle Jarrow, musician Reggie Watts, comedian/writer Baratunde Thurston, choreographer Tiffany Rea-Fisher, choreographer Kyle Abraham, filmmaker Andrew Bujalski, the rock band We Are Scientists, and tens of thousands of others. The Tank has been honored with an OBIE Award for Institutional Recognition celebrating our Extraordinary Support of Emerging Artists, 6 Drama Desk nominations for our co-produced work, and an official New York City Council proclamation. Artistic Director, Meghan Finn, was the recipient of a 2024 David Prize for Extraordinary New Yorkers.
The Tank’s production of Holes in the Shape of My Father by Savon Bartley was nominated for a 2026 Drama Desk Award. Recent Tank hit productions include Berlinda! By Daniel Holzman, Kara & Emma & Barbara & Maranda by Ariel Stess (2024 Obie Award), Lobster by Kallan Dana (New York Magazine Critics Pick), Mahinerator by Jerry Lieblich (Highbrow/Brilliant New York Magazine Approval Matrix), New York Times Critics Picks Simon and His Shoes (2022), Taxilandia (2021, 2023 Obie Award), Open by Crystal Skillman (2019), Red Emma & The Mad Monk by Alexis Roblan (2018), and The Offending Gesture by Mac Wellman (2016); as well as Drama Desk Award-nominated productions The Hunger Artist (2018), Ada/Ava (2016) and youarenowhere (2016).
