Ellen Dostal – BroadwayWorld
John Farmanesh-Bocca directs the world premiere of a bracing new version of Eduardo Machado‘s LYSISTRATA UNBOUND, starring Brenda Strong (Supergirl, 13 Reasons Why)as Lysistrata, in a collaboration between Odyssey Theatre Ensemble and Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble. Set in Ancient Greece to the cadence of a modern text, the 90-minute one-act play uses Farmanesh-Bocca’s tactile brand of physicality to heighten the social dysfunction between men and women at a time when war informed all behavior. It is a blunt, audacious, and often shocking depiction of a testosterone-driven age where men were defined by their ability in battle and women had no say over anything, including their own grief.
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Deborah Klugman – Stage Raw
Sinewy dance and visceral themes are among the hallmarks of Not Man Apart – Physical Theatre Ensemble, a company of performers that aims to bring dance and theater together and frequently succeeds in a brilliant way. Their latest show, Lysistrata Unbound, an adaptation of Aristophanes classic by Eduardo Machado, directed and choreographed by John Farmanesh-Bocca, features both elements in ample supply. The production also boasts an exceptional sound design (a quality common to their work) by Adam Phelan and Farmanesh-Bocca, with complementary lighting by Bosco Flanagan. And, like such prior shows as Ajax in Iraq and Pericles Redux, it’s constructed around an intense anti-war sentiment that lends the on-stage proceedings inherent power.
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Now running through August 4