THE KEENING

From: "will stackman" profwlll@yahoo.com

Subject: Quicktake - "The Keening" by Humberto Dorado

Date: Thur, Oct 20, 10:53 AM

Quicktake on THE KEENING

     The English-lanuage version of Columbian screenwriter Huberto Dorado's "Con el Corazon Abierto" (With an Open Heart), retitled "The Keening" now playing at the ART's Zero Arrow St. facility is one of the strongest pieces of theatre seen in these parts in a long time. This monodrama, acted with precision by Marissa Chibas, currently the Head of Acting at Cal Arts, is an epic narrative of the life of one anonymous Columbian woman, whose interesting life but not extraordinary life reflects more than a half century of bloody political turmoil in that South American country. Director Nicholas Montero, who developed the original production for a 2004 festival in Bogota, has carefully orchestrated Dorado's storyline as a solemn ritual, past tragedy, not offering catharsis in the traditional sense. "The Keening" leaves the audience with an understanding of outrage without relief, mirroring the circumstance in his homeland. The evening is acted out on a formal thrust setting, where realistic detail combines with modern sterility, by Mexican designer Alejandro Luna, reinforcing the starkness of the tale and its Brechtian style. Chibas' powerful contained performance shows a survivor, not a victim, living the best she can in a devastating reality.

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"The Keening" by Humberto Dorado, Oct. 14 - Nov. 12

A.R.T. at Zero Arrow

Arrow & Mass. Ave, Harvard Sq. (617) 547 - 8300
A.R.T.