Catastrophic Theatre's renewed production of last year's Hunter Gatherers is a welcome dose of humor to help get us through the long, hot days of summer ... Shelley Calene-Black and Troy Schulze give wonderful life to characters who could otherwise easily be crowded out by the wild plotting and ranting of the hunters (Greg Dean and Amy Bruce) ... Dean takes his role with visible caveman glee and Bruce, who was in last summer's run as well, knows exactly how to pull off her scheming dissatisfaction ... For a play that begins with the slaughtering of a baby lamb, you can guess it's got a lot to live up to, and it does.
To its enormous credit, the play will leave each audience member unraveling a different thread of thought by the end of the night, but there is no doubt that all will agree on the manifold virtues of its execution. Catastrophic's production of The Designated Mourner matches the company's dedication to challenging pieces with a pure distillation of craft. With an eye towards subtlety, the intimate staging and the actors' engaging performances turn an unquestionably heady script about privilege and contradiction into something personal and moving.
Catastrophic's staging is immaculate, from the absolutely gorgeous set design to the seamless lighting changes and the evocative but hard-to-place music. There are moments when the scene changes seem completely and effortlessly cinematic ... Despite the decades-old tales of Our Late Night's offensiveness, it doesn't come across that Shawn is trying to directly provoke the audience with in-your-face assertions of truth and hypocrisy. Rather the script seems to present a way that we could talk about these strange parts of our psyches but that we don't - perhaps a way that we would talk about them if we thought we'd be understood.
Spacetaker
This week's art on tap flows with Aurora Picture Show, Main Street Theater - Houston, 14 Pews, Inprint, Homespun: Houston Handmade, The Catastrophic Theatre, and Misha Penton! Also, this week's Cultured Cocktails benefits Crafting Under the Influence... Join Spacetaker at Boheme Cafe & Wine Bar and bring your friends to raise a glass to support your local arts community. A portion of this week's drink proceeds will benefit Crafting Under the Influence. Learn about Crafting Under the Influence while actually taking part in a Crafting Under the Infl... This week's art on tap: Feb 22-281 hour 22 min ago.
The Catastrophic Theatre
View our trailer for Endgame. We still have tickets available for this evening. Have a beverage on us after the show and join us for the post show talk back. 3 hours 2 min ago.
The Catastrophic Theatre
The Chronicle Review is Out! "Catastrophic Theatre’s stark, unflinching production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame demonstrates exactly why this company and its artistic director Jason Nodler are so important to the city’s cultural life." Catastrophic Theatre’s stark, unflinching production of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame demonstrates exactly why this company and its artistic director Jason Nodler are so important to the city’s cultural life. Castastrophic’s Endgame: Does Beckett get any better? | Houston Art | 29-95.com1 day 4 hours ago.
The Catastrophic Theatre
"If man's wretched existence ever needed a finer hand to paint comic despair, look no further than director Jason Nodler with his quartet of superlative interpreters all in the service of the apocalyptic vision from Samuel Beckett." The set-up: Who else in Houston are you going to trust to do justice to the creepy dysfunction and... The Magnificent Endgame Gets Magnificent Treatment from Catastrophic Theatre2 days 1 hour ago.
The Catastrophic Theatre
Big thanks to our audiences on Friday and Saturday for a great opening weekend. We are taking a break until Wednesday when we will have a post show Q&A. PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN and enjoy a free beverage on us after the show. http://catastrophictheatre.com/tickets 2 days 18 hours ago.
The Catastrophic Theatre
Tonight is our first PAY-WHAT-YOU-CAN and we'll even buy your drink after the show. Limited run. Hope to see you soon! http://ow.ly/1FjjjN 4 days 1 hour ago.
The Catastrophic Theatre
What an amazing audience. Thank you so much to everyone who came to Endgame tonight. 4 days 13 hours ago.