Les Spindle – Edge on the Net
Prolific Chicago-based playwright, Phillip Dawkins, is back. When his riveting ensemble drama “The Homosexuals” was presented at L.A.’ s Celebration Theater in 2013, it certainly whetted one’s appetite to view more of his work. In a staging by L.A.’s Coeurage Theatre Company, Dawkins’ zany seriocomic reverie, “Failure: A Love Story” is an ambitious and determinedly offbeat work, spotlighting a spirited ensemble cast.
Director Michael Matthews’ energetic production is staged in a story-theater fashion, with no pretext of a fourth wall. It initially evokes memories of vintage Thornton Wilder (flashes of “The Skin of Our Teeth” and “Our Town”). Yet Dawkins’ surrealistic creation and Matthews’ interpretation thereof might also be described as unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Read more…
Deborah Klugman – LA Weekly
Philip Dawkins’ unorthodox play Failure: A Love Story isn’t the first to counsel music, love and laughter as an antidote to death, but it may be unique in heralding that milestone in a blithe and gleeful way. Read more…
Paul Birchall – Stage Raw
One truthful takeaway (amongst many) of playwright Philip Dawkins’s beautifully wistful and charming tour de force is this: Everyone you love will probably die. In fact, take out that “probably.” Everyone you love will die and, in this work of slapstick tragedy, you can either be a grump about it, or you can just live your life as hard as you can and not worry about it. Read more…
Now running through August 29.