Theater: Atlantic Theater / 336 West 20th Street, New York, NY, 10011
Synopsis:
Howard Barker's two poems for the stage examine human polarization, cruelty and self-determination. Gary the Thief, starring Robert Emmet Lunney (Broadway's The Graduate, The Europeans with PTP/NYC), presents a character in self-exploration whose definition of himself is in direct opposition to the 'crowd'. Plevna: Meditations on Hatred, starring Alex Draper (Terrorism with New Group, Scenes From An Execution and No End of Blame with PTP/NYC), explores the legacy of cultural conflict through the ages. Running time is 70 minutes.
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July 21, 2010: Listen. Listen harder. That’s what the British playwright Howard Barker needs you to do during “Gary the Thief” and “Plevna: Meditations on Hatred,” his two short, dense plays produced by the Potomac Theater Project/NYC at Atlantic Stage 2.
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July 21, 2010: The plays and poetry of Howard Barker are an acquired taste, one faithfully nurtured by helmer Richard Romagnoli during his tenure as co-artistic director of the Potomac Theater Project. "Gary the Thief," in which the narrator rails at the "monkeys" he outwits, might make a nice curtain-raiser for "Claw," or any other Barker play featuring one of his dispossessed antiheroes. "Plevna," an account of a battle in the Russo-Turkish wars, would be a natural introduction to "Scenes From an Execution," or any other of the scribe's historically sensitive dramas. But two static curtain-raisers do not an evening of theater make.
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July 21, 2010: "Poem" is the operative word here. British playwright Howard Barker is offering up two blank-verse ruminations, each recited by one man, together totaling little more than 50 minutes. Barker fans will find much to admire in his graceful and pointed use of language (occasionally a bit too cute) and meditative distance, even when the speakers seem at their most impassioned. Just don't expect anything like a play or two. Even Barker acknowledges the limitations of "the poet's horror at the fallibility of words." Director Richard Romagnoli, a longtime Barker collaborator, is on board with this, orchestrating just enough movement by his players without having them actually do much of anything other than recite. Technical credits, apart from the unobtrusive lighting by Hallie Zieselman, are virtually nonexistent, and the actors even appear to be self-costumed.
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July 21, 2010: During this very short, occasionally ravishing program prepared by PTP/NYC, two flies struggle in the metaphorical ointment. The first is the briefer-than-a-primetime-drama running time, which ejects us onto the street just as we’ve settled into our seats. But the other insect lies, paradoxically, in the superb quality of the pieces on offer.
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