Escaped Alone: But we’re in this together
Go see this show. Because you should never ever turn down a chance to see a play by Caryl Churchill. She’s been one of the most exciting dramatists in the world for the last 40 years, and she will fuck you up — and reward you — every single time. In...
Certified: You’d be crazy not to see it
Jan Derbyshire’s Certified is pretty much perfect. And how often do I get to say that? Certified is about Derbyshire’s journey with mental illness and mental health, but it’s not one of those stories that collapse into the horrors of madness. Derbyshire allows herself...
Frankenstein, Lost in Darkness: waiting to be found at Pacific Theatre
Taking in Frankenstein: Lost in Darkness is very much like sitting around a fire on a winter evening and listening to a storyteller who is very good — if a little long-winded. Peter Church has adapted Mary Shelley’s novel as a staged radio play and it’s full of foley...
China Doll: Could I get some dramatic tension with that?
Oh man, why do such poorly written plays get produced? Yes, Marjorie Chan’s China Doll is admirably feminist and admirably inclusive of underrepresented experience, but it’s also boring. Chan starts her story in Shanghai in 1904, when her central character, Su-Ling,...
Take d Milk, Nah?: Yeah, take d milk
I've been so bored in the theatre so often lately that I’ve been starting to wonder if I’m dead inside. That’s why I’m feeling so high right now: Take d Milk, Nah? kept me consistently stimulated and engaged. From the get-go, solo performer Jivesh Parasram is Mr....
Cost of Living: sentiment, beauty, mistakes
Equivocation isn’t much fun, but it’s all I’ve got. There are strengths in the performances in this Arts Club production of Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living. And the Pulitzer Prize-winning script is compassionate and sometimes lyrical. But there are also times when the...
Company: in the wrong room
The venue doesn’t work. The style doesn’t work. And the wig they've given Katey Wright is horrible. But it’s not all bad news. Raincity Theatre, which scored a smashing success with is site-specific production of Sweeney Todd last season is back with a site-specific...
Body Awareness: starts off numb
What country, friends, is this? For about the first three-quarters of Body Awareness, I had no idea where I was. I mean, I knew the literal location. In Annie Baker’s script, a couple named Joyce and Phyllis, are living with Joyce’s 21-year-old son Jared in a Vermont...
The Birds & the Bees: A play about U-turns takes one of its own
Sometimes I think that theatre companies should offer half-price tickets to people who only want to watch Act 2. Act 1 of The Birds & the Bees is a waste of time. Admittedly, it sets up the story. Thirty-eight-year-old Sarah’s 11-year marriage has just broken up —...
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