Clean and A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity
The double bill at Brits Off Broadway of Clean and A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity comes from the celebrated Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. Orla O’Loughlin, the artistic director at the Traverse, directs both plays.
Clean, by Sabrina Mahfouz, follows three independent, average, criminals on a joint caper. The twist is they’re all girls. As Mahfouz explains in a voiceover that starts the performance, writers (be they playwrights or computer game developers) overlook female characters when it comes to these kinds of villainous adventure stories.
Zainab, Chloe, and Katya, our protagonists, begin with alternating monologues introducing themselves and their stations within the criminal underground. The play then adopts a standard heist trajectory: a target is named, obstacles emerge, and twists of fortune materialize. Unfortunately, when we get to the action of the caper, there is more “tell” than “show” and that results in a lethargic storytelling experience.
A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity, by Douglas Maxwell, is about a widow, Annabelle, and a young man, Jim, who worked for her husband. They strike up a friendship at the funeral for Annabelle’s husband after Jim uses some rather salty language to refer to the recently deceased. Annabelle is determined to better understand her husband through the crass vernacular of his workplace and she insists Jim educate her. What follows are several pretty funny exchanges on the use and meaning of profanity. It’s a gentle, heart-warming story about cross-generational friendship.
Critics’ Reviews
New York Times
What a Foul Mouth You Have, Grandma
Theatre Is Easy
This double serving of Scottish comedy packs plenty of laughs and insight into cultural and class issues across the pond.
TheaterMania
59E59 Theaters presents a double bill of strong women and strong language.
Theater Pizzazz
Double Bill: A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity & Clean Rambunctiously Original
TICKETS
$40.00 (Click here for Tickets)
DATES
Performances through April 27, 2014
LOCATION
59E59 Theaters
59 East 59th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
One hour and 45 minutes, one intermission (total for both shows)
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Clean
Written by Sabrina Mahfouz
Directed by Orla O’Loughlin
Featuring Jade Anouka, Emma Dennis-Edwards, Chloe Massey
A Respectable Widow Takes to Vulgarity
Written by Douglas Maxwell
Directed by Orla O’Loughlin
Featuring Joanna Tope, Gavin Jon Wright