Home | Suzanne Willett

Coverage: All That Fall – Mabou Mines

All that Fall is a Beckett radio play from 1956. I am going to focus on themes of death/mortality and indeterminacy for this post. Death/mortality is referred to constantly; Maddy speaks a dead language, and there are continual references to aches and pains associated with aging. Indeterminacy is textually weaved in with death throughout the script: in Mr. Tyler’s comment, “Well half alive shall we say?”, Mrs. Rooney’s statement: “Don’t mind me, I do not exist.”, and Mis

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Jan 162 min read

Coverage: Kanjincho – Japan Society

Yuichi Kinoshita’s Kanjincho draws from the Noh play that centers on Yoshitsune’s attempt to cross the border in Japan to escape his brother’s death warrant. The theme that resonated for me here is borders/lines and hierarchy. I found this production to be innovative in drawing upon Kabuki (to name only a few: the tachimawari scene, the mie poses) while refining it. For the mie poses, I found Yoshitsune’s (Noemi Takayama’s) stillness while feigning exhaustion exuded an exc

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Jan 112 min read

Coverage: Osni the Flare

Tristan Allen’s new work centers on the story of fire. Osni, the protagonist, begins by picking apples off trees, which for me references the acquisition of knowledge. Osni then embarks on a Promethean journey. While I had points of confusion on some parts of the narrative, Mx. Allen does an incredible amount of puppetry, both behind and in front of the screen. In addition, Mx. Allen composes the music for the show. A resonant moment for me was when Mx. Allen dons Osni’s

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Nov 28, 20251 min read

Coverage: And Then We Were No More - La Mama

Mr. Nelson’s play is a more of an extended dialectical argument than a play in the dramatic sense. He does address many philosophical themes, questioning in particular the superiority of function over human form. Humanity is a central theme here, and in the future of this play, there is no room for it. Themes of profiting off the penal system and punishment are also touched upon. Viewers should be aware that they will be challenged by the arguments Nelson makes from God t

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Nov 2, 20252 min read

Coverage: Archduke – Roundabout

Archduke centers on toxic masculinity, using the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand as its vehicle. For me, this theme was not fully clear during the first act. In Act I, it seemed that Joseph's play was centering around themes of death, mortality and the meaning of one’s life within the context of young men. This is due to the initial scene with Gavrilo and Nedeljko. They talk about how tuberculosis will cut their life short and what have they done with their live

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Oct 30, 20252 min read

Dimension Zero - Here Arts

Since last season I have been seeing more and more companies addressing the economic/political climate directly and Boxcutter continues this essential work and does it with wonderful campy humor. Dimension Zero is a musical/puppetry/sci-fi romp centering on the toxicity of capitalism. My understanding of the story (I do not have the script) is that an alien Zenda vows to help emancipate the low-paid labor of orphaned children working for a Mr. Walters, a billionaire. Zenda

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Oct 24, 20251 min read

The Mutables - Here Arts

The Mutables centers on one’s ability to have a voice. In part 1 of this exploration, a character (Marie Lloyd Paspe) falls through a door and finds herself in a world with a chorus of Ielel, mythical beings akin to the Sirens/Furies/Bacchae. Paspe’s character discovers that she cannot make sense when she speaks. The Ielel ‘speak’ as they move their bodies and sing. She begs the Ielel to help her, but they do not help her get her voice back. I was taken out by the conund

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Oct 10, 20252 min read

Krapp's Last Tape - Skirball

Beckett’s end-of-life treatise is well realized here with Stephen Rhea’s performance. Rhea (Krapp) demonstrates skill with comedic timing, reflective moments and silent performance. Jamie Vartan’s ‘interrogation room’ set supports Beckett’s theme of barrenness at end of life and hints at a search for truth. The grey of Vartan’s set against Katie Davenport’s black and white costume for Krapp reinforces the emotional ambivalence of that search. Paul Keogan’s sharp-edged rec

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Oct 10, 20251 min read

The Honey Trap - Irish Rep

This piece by Leo McGann centers on blame and forgiveness. I do feel that the play is bifurcated; the first act is an interview of Dave,...

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Oct 2, 20251 min read

The Wild Duck - TFANA

This is a standard production of The Wild Duck. Greger’s adherence to unadulterated zealotry at all costs is what makes Ibsen’s piece tick both then and now. Alexander Hurt as Gregers effectively supports the role of zealot/messiah as he invests every moment emotionally. However, moments were missed between Gregers and Hakon in the initial study scene, as were moments between Gregers and Hjalmar. The perception shift toward Greger was effective as it was visibly felt in t

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Sep 24, 20251 min read