Performance Critiques
The Williams Project’s Pandemic Play Promises, But Does Not Fulfill
Catherine Blake Smith identifies shortcomings and successes in The Williams Project’s venture to challenge our current circumstances in their outdoor production of Marisol.
Memorial Tattoos and the Fogginess of War in Seattle Rep's Last of the Boys
Stevi Costa and the review team critically examine the complexity, ambiguity, and socio-political/cultural contexts of veterans and the impacts of war on the homefront in Steven Dietz's Last of the Boys.
The Man With the Bomb: Washington Ensemble Theatre's B
Washington Ensemble Theatre's B brings up questions about anarchy, revolution, propaganda, critical history, and violence for Becs Richards and the review team.
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.
Staging the Immigrant Experience from a Women's Perspective
Kate Forster and Emily George highlight the timeliness of Seattle Public Theater's production of Ironbound and its emphasis on the difficult decisions and hardships of the American immigrant story.
Intersections: A Celebration of Seattle Performance - Comedy, Representation, and Intersectionality!
The DeConstruct team interviews Intersections Festival curators Natasha Ransom, Kinzie Shaw, Jekeva Philips to discuss opportunities to showcase the diversity of the Seattle performance scene.
What We Talk About When We Talk About Blood Quantum: Native American Identity in Jihae Park's Peerless
Lydia Heberling and the review team highlight Jihae Park's success at "capturing the complexity of claiming and expressing Indigeneity" in Peerless along with potential decolonial narratives, performing on unceded Duwamish territory.
Politics Again, Politics Otherwise: Lingering Questions from Frost/Nixon
Jenny Van Houdt and the review team query and answer the questions brought up by Strawberry Theatre Workshop's timely production of Frost/Nixon: Why This Play? Why Women? Why Here and Now?
Queer Performance in Unsafe Spaces: The Nance Looks Back at New York Theater's Censorious Past
Liz Janssen and the review team provide much-needed additional historical context for ArtsWest's thought-provoking and well-performed production of The Nance.
The Curse of Gender and Empty Promise of Urbanization in Modern-Day China
Kate Forster and the review team uncover the possibilities of the "unrealized potential" in Desdemona Chiang's "puzzling interpretation" of The World of Extreme Happiness.
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.
Claims to Queer Monstrosity in Beware the Terror of Gaylord Manor
Olivia Jean Hernández and Emily George find BenDeLaCreme’s campy production and all-drag cast of Beware the Terror of Gaylord Manor to “effectively destabilize the inherently gendered expectations of horror narratives.”