HOME PAGE SEARCH CurtainUp REVIEWS FEATURES NEWS Etcetera and Short Term Listings LISTINGS Broadway Off-Broadway BOOKS and CDs OTHER PLACES Berkshires London LA/San Diego DC Philadelphia Elsewhere QUOTES On TKTS LETTERS TO EDITOR FILM LINKS MISCELANEOUS Free Updates Masthead NYC Weather |
A CurtainUp Review
Plums In New York By Jenny Sandman
In Plums in New York, written by and starring Icelandic artist Anna Rosa Sigurdardottir as Gudrun whose obsession with Strindberg takes over her life. The play takes its title from a dream she has about plums which sends her to New York to visit a friend to try and resolve the dream. Gudrun is writing a play about Strindberg, and as she gets deeper into the writing process, her grip on reality falters and Strindberg takes over her body. Much like Strindberg himself, she can't distinguish waking from dreaming. The play is a half-surreal extended soliloquy and raises some interesting questions about the nature of illusion and reality. It's charming in places but often just silly. Sigurdardottir is a fine actress but she needs better material and she would be better served if she stuck to performing material that she hasn't written herself. The actress also interacts with strange projections that bear an uncanny resemblance to mid-1980s video game graphics. Again, a charming idea, but poorly executed. The projections are more distracting than effective. Overall, Plums in New York is bland with Strindberg remaining a largely irrelevant sideline, and the story just spins itself in circles without really enlightening or resolving anything. Here's hoping that New Yo
|
Retold by Tina Packer of Shakespeare & Co. Click image to buy. Our Review Mendes at the Donmar Our Review At This Theater Leonard Maltin's 2003 Movie and Video Guide Ridiculous!The Theatrical Life & Times of Charles Ludlam 6, 500 Comparative Phrases including 800 Shakespearean Metaphors by CurtainUp's editor. Click image to buy. Go here for details and larger image. |