was fortunate to see Donald Fidler’s Hijacked Lives in its premier performance, directed by David Beach. Although billed as part of a two-show evening of Existential Theatre, I wouldn’t have called this an existentialist play. Whether it is existential or not, however, the show is intriguing, engaging, witty, and fun. The story begins with a …
Continue reading Hijacked Lives, by Donald Fidler–31 Jan. 2016
As someone who studies adaptation, I was excited to see a production of Aaron Posner’s Stupid Fucking Bird, which reworks Chekhov’s The Seagull. Posner’s play regularly draws attention to itself as an adaptation, specifically in the Russian dramatic tradition, and attempts to metatheatrically engage spectators in issues of narrative construction, expectations, and generic norms. In …
Continue reading Stupid Fucking Bird, by Aaron Posner–5 Dec. 2015
The Agony and the Ecstasy of Steve Jobs is a theatre play that goes beyond glorifying Steve Jobs and delves into the impact of technology on our daily lives and its human consequence in manufacturing industries, reflecting on poor working conditions at Chinese factories. The nine-actor rendition at the MT Pockets Theatre portrayed these themes effectively using monologues. Standout performances from Travis Teffner and Shenendoah Thompson highlighted the intensity of the subject matter.
Phillip Zapkin 