– Robyn Senscia, A Deadly Game of Chess

LONDON, 1938. The nineteen-year-old Anton Lehrer has found a home after years on the run. But, when his best friend Robyn returns from an extended stay in New York, she discovers just how fake his perfect life is. What starts as a offer of help quickly spirals out of control as these two master manipulators turn their friends to chess pieces and truth itself into a weapon. Everyone has a dark secret to hide. You can't outrun who you are... especially when the one you love has a knife to their throat.
​
Completed in 2016 and performed in 2016 and 2019, A Deadly Game of Chess is the result of nine years of work from author Melody Rose. A cautionary tale of good intentions gone awry, it shows two geniuses paving their own road to hell by weaponizing the other. It's similar in tone to an arthouse film. Minimalist in design, it only features one set and four characters. Through its story, it explores exactly what it means for something to be "true" with this as a main thesis:
​
We always hear that truth is a weapon. It's always said as a good thing, but that can have an ugly side. Will the truth always set you free, or does ignorance sometimes have its place? Because, if truth is a weapon, you should know when to use it.
​