Octopus in Its Own Ink/Pulpo En Su Tinta is a powerful drama of intrigue and family in the pressure cooker of dictatorship, based on true events. As Don Mario, a diplomat fallen from favor, seeks to get his family out of the country that is descending into chaos, his eldest sons face torture, uncertainty and death while plotting guerilla action against the dictator that is coming to dinner the very next night. Caught at the center are the extended family relations––the female insurgent who seeks to lead, the young boy whose nightmares tell him more than anyone else, and the housekeeper whose love binds them together. The cultural role of food and dining comes to the fore when “Octopus in its Own Ink” is served at the fateful meal which brings the drama to its climax. A work of contemporary theatre employing poetry and magical realism, this new work is also an intense fast-moving thriller, classical in scope.