Performed by David Melville: The true story of William-Henry Ireland, despised by his teachers, detested by his stepmother, and ignored by his father—until he forges “Shakespearean” documents that fool the literati of London. And when his forged play VORTIGERN plays at the greatest theatre with the finest actors of the day, what could possibly go wrong? “Brutally funny, brutally sad”—L.A. Weekly.
Out of 121 productions at the 2013 United Solo theatre festival Solemn Mockeries won the award for Best Perod Piece!
Performed by David Melville: The true story of William-Henry Ireland, despised by his teachers, detested by his stepmother, and ignored by his father—until he forges “Shakespearean” documents that fool the literati of London. And when his forged play VORTIGERN plays at the greatest theatre with the finest actors of the day, what could possibly go wrong? “Brutally funny, brutally sad”—L.A. Weekly.
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"The bold and artful collaboration between the museum and Chalk Rep brings an unrestrained creativity in the stories that are heartfelt, clever, and biting. In the end, the space, topics, and performances compel us to see and feel the museum in a deeper, more reverent way." - EDITOR'S PICK - Kenneth Hughes, Flavorpill “Under the Glass, written by Zakiyyah Alexander and directed by Jeffrey Wienckowski. Pitch black except for the illuminated glass cases of colorful stones and crystalline gems, this performance is certain to be an audience favorite." Jenny Platt; Life in La "Wonderfully directed by Jeff Wienckowski who uses the entire Gem and Mineral Hall to grand effect. " Joe Straw #9 "The most successful is Under the Glass." Kurt Gardner; Blogcritics I wanted the first review I wrote for this blog to be about an amazing production I recently saw that is running indefinitely. Unfortunately, most of you who read this will never get a chance to see it. That is precisely why I feel it is so important to write about.
No exaggeration or hyperbole; the company at the Hungarian Theatre is filled with some of the best actors I have ever seen in my life. There is an incredible dichotomy in all of their work. They manage to be absolutely authentic while retaining an almost mechanical precision and theatricality of the highest order. Their repertory system is quite different from our own. Instead of running 2 or 3 shows continuously for a few months, they have over ten shows in rotation; each one being played once or twice a month. Some of these shows have been running for years with no sign of stopping. In the ten days I was there, I was astonished to see several actors performing in 5 or 6 shows over the course of the week. All this while rehearsing Hedda Gabler in the morning. It is a work ethic I cannot even begin to wrap my head around, and can only view with the highest form of admiration.
Howard (Gábor Viola) shows Willy home movies As an American, working abroad in a foreign language, Tom Dugdale has done something quite stunning in creating a production that is both quintessentially American and totally universal. He manages this by putting his whole heart and soul on stage. Whether it's the songs he composes for the actors or the childhood memories he recreates, Dugdale's psyche is all over the stage. This is nowhere more evident than in the scene where Willy goes into his boss' office. Howard (his boss) shares a fascinating new object; a reel-to-reel tape deck with a recording of his son's voice. Here, Dugdale replaces the tape-deck with a home-video camera; a symbol of his own childhood. Instant nostalgia for every one (like myself) who grew-up with their father's camera constantly pointed at them! But the thing that makes this so much more than simple plot-device is the intimate nature in which it is used. When Howard presses play, Willy (along with the audience) watches childhood home movies of Dugdale singing and playing in the bathtub. It is truly one of the most poignantly simple moments of an artist baring himself on stage (literally and emotionally) . Willy urges the Woman (Csilla Albert) to leave when Biff arrives I cannot say enough about artistic rigor and craftsmanship of this stellar cast (lead by the immensely powerful András Hatházi), but the real star is the lean and muscular adaptation (by Dugdale and dramaturg Eszter Biro). As I watched, the major thing I noticed was how briskly the action kept moving forward, never allowing the actors the time to wallow in their own misery. By the time we reached the climactic scene (where Biff walks in on Willy's adulterous encounter), I realized we had yet to take an intermission. I looked down at my watch and realized it had only been an hour-forty five and we were almost done. It was not until that moment that I realized exactly how much of the text must have been cut. I have to say, the cuts (as well as the rearranging of some flashbacks) made the plot sing in a way that I have never seen. The sad thing is, even though it works so much better, an American production could never take so many liberties with our "sacred text" without getting crucified by the purists. I would argue, that this production is more sacred than any you are likely to see on our shores, because in Cluj, the Salesman is alive. |
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