BRUTE FARCE

PRESS

"In what has to be one of the funniest props in theater lore, Reggie has rigged an elaborate electrical cueing system involving four colored light bulbs, one for each actor, and four clear light bulbs, one for each scene. The actors all being themselves dim bulbs, the device results in complete confusion."

"Houk’s comedy is a near-perfect, laugh-out-loud farce, owing not only to the cockamamie plot but to the comic invective among the bungling actors, harried production crew, and acerbic critic."

"A future theater-laughs-at-itself classic alongside Michael Frayn’s Noises Off."

READINGS

BRUTE FARCE received staged readings at the Anacostia Arts Center on Oct 27th, 28th & 29th, 2022. These readings were made possible thanks to a generous grant made available by Duane Gautier and the Valley Place Arts Collaborative/ARCH, and through the kind support of Adele Robey.

SYNOPSIS

Four vengeful, narcissistic actors, with the assistance of a brutish stage manager and a cynical stagehand, abduct and hold captive a theater critic notorious for shutting down productions and ending careers through his malicious reviews. To confound matters, they intend to carry their plan out during a performance of a show they’re all currently appearing in. Less than an hour before the curtain is due to rise, their scheme begins to quickly unravel as we discover that none of the conspirators are familiar with the actual plan or its designed outcome. Brute Farce is a satirical commentary on the perpetually symbiotic, oftentimes dysfunctional, and occasionally turbulent relationship between actors and reviewers.

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