Red Light Winter Explores Toxic Love Triangle

Ego Death Theatre Collective stages Adam Rapp's early play about a woman caught between two self-absorbed men.

Published on Feb. 27, 2026

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Adam Rapp's 2005 play Red Light Winter, a Pulitzer Prize finalist, is now receiving an intimate staging by Ego Death Theatre Collective in Chicago. The play follows struggling writer Matt as he travels to Amsterdam with his friend Davis, where they encounter a French sex worker named Christina. A year later, Christina unexpectedly shows up at Matt's doorstep in Manhattan, further complicating the toxic dynamic between the three characters.

Why it matters

Red Light Winter explores Rapp's recurring themes of disaffected people and the forces that pull them together and apart. The play's small-scale but effective revival by Ego Death Theatre Collective allows audiences to delve into the complex relationships and secrets that bind the three main characters.

The details

In the play, Matt, a struggling writer, attempts suicide in an Amsterdam hotel room before being interrupted by the arrival of his friend Davis and the sex worker Christina. Davis, a successful publisher, has brought Christina to lift Matt's spirits, but she ends up falling for Davis instead. A year later, Christina shows up unexpectedly at Matt's home in New York, leading to further unraveling of the relationships.

  • Red Light Winter had its world premiere in 2005 at Steppenwolf Theatre.
  • The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2006.
  • Rapp made his Broadway debut in 2019 with the play The Sound Inside.

The players

Adam Rapp

An American playwright and novelist who specializes in stories about disaffected people. He is the author of Red Light Winter and the book for the musical The Outsiders.

Ego Death Theatre Collective

A Chicago-based theater company that is currently staging a small-scale but effective revival of Red Light Winter.

Matt

A struggling writer who travels to Amsterdam with his friend Davis and encounters the sex worker Christina.

Davis

Matt's friend, a successful publisher who is the polar opposite of the depressed and schlubby Matt.

Christina

A French sex worker who becomes entangled in the toxic dynamic between Matt and Davis.

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What they’re saying

“Rapp has gone on to write better works, but Ego Death's production lets us see the early roots of his obsessions.”

— Kerry Reid, Critic (chicagoreader.com)

The takeaway

Red Light Winter explores Rapp's recurring themes of disaffected people and the complex, toxic relationships that can form between them. Ego Death Theatre Collective's intimate staging allows audiences to delve into the play's exploration of these themes and the early roots of Rapp's distinctive voice as a playwright.