Our Late Night
by Wallace Shawn

Ticket Price

Pay What You Can

We Suggest $35
More If You Have it
Less if you don't

Location

The Catastrophic Theatre

1117 East Frwy

Houston, Tx 77002

Venue Info

Performances

Mar 19, 2010 -

Apr 3, 2010

"Well ... uh. The, uh, ordinary way the we modern Western people tend to think of ourselves, um ... uh, doesn't really ... um, uhh ... take account of, uh, sex. That makes sex very interesting as a subject."
- Wallace Shawn

Cast & Personnel

Director

Jason Nodler

Dramaturgy

Dr. Rob Shimko

Cast

The Play

Jason Nodler directs Wallace Shawn’s Our Late Night, a cocktail party at which no topic, thought or action is taboo. The result is a Jungian pornography; a wickedly funny, often troubling look at what we feel and think but dare not say.

The production of this rarely produced play continues Catastrophic’s tradition of presenting work unlike anything else being produced in Houston. Though its premiere in 1975, under Andre Gregory’s direction, netted an Obie award, the Catastrophic production will be just the fourth professional production of the play in 35 years.

Of the London production, directed by Caryl Churchill, The Guardian wrote, “It is a short play but a savage one… Neurosis, panic and sexual surreality underlie Shawn’s startling vision of New Yorkers at play.”

According to Nodler, “Only Wallace Shawn could write a play like Our Late Night. It is the most subversive play I know. It is also the most truthful. There is no subtext in this play; the characters express the worst of what they feel – as though their bowels and genitals had a direct line to their tongues – and the effect is brutal.”

Our Late Night features Catastrophic company members Greg Dean, Mikelle Johnson, Jeff Miller, Karina Pal Montano-Bowers, Troy Schulze and Kyle Sturdivant, with special guest artist Carolyn Houston Boone.

The Playwright

WALLACE SHAWN is an American actor, voice actor, stand-up comedian, singer, dancer, playwright, and essayist, best known for appearing in film roles, such as Wally Shawn in the Louis Malle-directed comedy-drama My Dinner with Andre (1981), Vizzini in The Princess Bride (1987), Ezra in The Haunted Mansion, providing the voice of Rex in the Toy Story franchise, providing the voice of Gilbert Huph in The Incredibles (2004), and providing the voice of Calico in Cats & Dogs: The Revenge of Kitty Galore (2010). He also starred in a variety of television series, including Gossip Girl and recurring appearances as Grand Nagus Zek in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993-99). His plays include The Designated Mourner, Aunt Dan and Lemon, and Grasses of a Thousand Colors. He also co-wrote the screenplay for My Dinner with Andre with Andre Gregory, and he scripted Vanya on 42nd Street, a film adaptation of Anton Chekov's play Uncle Vanya. His latest film from June 2014 was A Master Builder based on the play by Henrik Ibsen.

"A dangerous writer. A very rare species. He tells people things about themselves that they don't want to know."
- Joseph Papp on Wallace Shawn

The Catastrophic Theatre's love of Wallace Shawn is well documented by its hit productions of Our Late Night and The Designated Mourner, each of which was declared a "can't miss" production by major critics in Houston. Audiences returned again and again, armed with friends.

Shawn is best known for his character roles in such films as The Princess Bride, Clueless, and Annie Hall as well as his more serious turns in the films My Dinner with Andre and Vanya on 42th Street, but acting for him is something of a day job. His primary mode of expression is his writing and he is a writer unlike any other.