Performance Critiques
Labor, Love, and Ennui in Uncle Vanya
Laura Chrisman and the review team examine the source and purpose of the title character's ennui and transformation in The Seagull Project's terminal production of Uncle Vanya.
Controlling the Narrative: Watching Richard III After the Kavanaugh Hearings
Emily George and the review team examine the "interesting and thoughtful" timeliness of questions raised by upstart crow collective's collaboration with Seattle Shakespeare on Richard III.
Discomforting the Audience: Racial Satire in Artswest's An Octoroon
Steph Hankinson and the review team examine how Brandon Jacobs-Jenkins's An Octoroon rides the line between critiquing melodrama and exploiting its emotional devices.
Seattle Repertory Theatre Re-tells the Black Experience in Two Trains Running
Anthony Reynolds and the review team highlight how Juliette Carrillo’s production of August Wilson’s Two Trains Running emphasizes the diverse and positive history of the shared Black experience “without the influence of white perspective to heavily mask their stories.”
Exploring the Politics of Fear: The Crucible and Eight Abigails
Laura Chrisman and the review team compare ACT Theatre's failings and Kaitlin McCarthy's successes with their contemporary and concurrent adaptations of Arthur Miller's The Crucible.
Why Theatre? Why Now? Latino Theatre Projects and Teatro Útil
Emily George and Steph Hankinson examine how Latino Theatre Projects' "dedication to theatre that challenges its audiences not to be complacent" can be an integral part of the conversation with Ay, Carmela!
Celebrating Warrior Women and Seattle's South Asian Diaspora: Chitrangada
Laura Chrisman and the review team applaud Pratdihwani's lively and engaging production of the feminist 19th-century dance drama featuring a large and multigenerational cast.
Cherdonna's A Doll's House: The Plural and Irresolute Nature of Contemporary Feminism
Lydia Heberling and review team highlight WET's commitment to bridging the gap between Ibsen's “progressive feminist plot” and the plurality of postmodern feminism in Cherdonna's A Doll's House.
Orlando: Fluidity in Gender, Desire, and Time
Steph Hankinson and the review team recognize the passion and dedication of UW Drama's Orlando (adaptation by Sarah Ruhl) and how its thematic nuance of Virginia Woolf's classic on gender and desire.
The Breeches Role: Bring Down the House Parts 1 & 2
Emily George and team review Seattle Shakespeare's & upstart crow collective's fast-paced collaboration of a Henry IV adaptation and its focus on gender and power: Bring Down the House Parts 1 & 2.
Problems of Race, Class and Labor Reign in The Cherry Orchard
Steph Hankinson and Emily George examine The Seagull's Project ambitious and bold connections of race, class, and labor in The Cherry Orchard.