The next day, Sunday, I spent almost nine hours immersed in Robert Lepage’s marathon play, Lipsynch, at the Bluma Appel Theatre, which was part of Luminato. You tell people you’ve just spent nine hours watching a play conducted in four languages (with projected sur-titles) and they think you’ve undergone an endurance test, made a heroic sacrifice for art. On the contrary. There was no suffering(5 minutes of [enthusiastic] standing and clapping). The time flew by. It was like taking your brain on a luxurious cruise. Or spending the day in an art spa, basking in mind massages and sensory wraps. Maybe it was high art but the ascent was effortless: because Lepage did all the work for you, it was experienced as pure entertainment. [more inside]
posted by infinite intimation on Oct 10, 2010 - 6 comments

The Royal Shakespeare Company presents Hamlet, starring David Tennant as Hamlet, Sir Patrick Stewart as Claudius and the Ghost, Oliver Ford Davies as Polonius, Mariah Gale as Ophelia, and Edward Bennet as Laertes. Directed by Gregory Doran. [more inside]
posted by Ndwright on Aug 13, 2010 - 102 comments

Blog: Daily Plays. "Reading a play a day and writing about what I read."
posted by grumblebee on Mar 9, 2010 - 4 comments

At what point did the muse disappear and become replaced by the dramaturg? "Scripts aren't written, they're rewritten", goes the cry from all the script gurus - all the literary managers, editors, producers, dramaturgs - not just in theatre but film, too. Why do they say this? Because their jobs depend on it. If scripts were left alone, what would they do? Dominic Dromgoole writes about playwriting in the UK.
posted by Panfilo on Dec 19, 2004 - 20 comments

The Exonerated
Want to see some great theater and learn a bit about our great system of justice and capital punishment? Then The Exonerated may be the show for you.

The other night I went to see The Exonerated, which has been playing Off Broadway since last fall and is also appearing in theaters around the country this year. Composed wholly from court records and interviews by playwrights Jessica Blank and Erik Jensen, this documentary drama recounts true tales of horror from the American criminal-justice system. The actors sit downstage and read their parts as the stories of six innocent citizens condemned to death row unfold. If this sounds like a worthy endeavor, it is; if it sounds dull or didactic, it isn’t.
posted by nofundy on Jul 3, 2003 - 2 comments

"A play? In Gaza? About feminism? With Palestinian actresses? Unbelievable!"
posted by talos on Oct 23, 2002 - 5 comments

Tantalus , one of the longest theatrical experiences ever has finally opened in London, and according to one critic, there is no greater endurance test. Always looking for an angle, The Guardian sent four journalists around London on May Day to see what other culture can be experienced in 12 hours, 40 mins. Merope Mills did film - "9:15pm. Both Dennis and Annette are working at the box office and, on seeing me again, Annette throws me the look of a concerned landlady, as in, "Haven't you had enough yet?" I, drunk on moving images, defy her concern and head straight back in. I might as well not have moved - it's straight back to screen five where I'm feeling rather territorial about the sudden influx of people. Nod off in the epic Traffic (18) for 15 minutes but dream about Michael Douglas so decide this little discrepancy still counts."
posted by feelinglistless on May 3, 2001 - 4 comments