Enfilade

Photo by Pavel Antonov

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In the October 28 issue of The New Yorker (“Wigstock,” pp. 70-72), Hilton Als reviews Marie Antoinette, written by David Adjmi, directed by Rebecca Taichman, and featuring Marin Ireland in the queen’s role (at New York’s SoHo Rep, 9 October — 24 November).

That the piece amounts to a kind of collaboration between Adjmi and Ireland–she writes in space with her body as Adjmi’s words fill the stage–is one of the production’s unexpected pleasures; in our generally director-driven theatre, it’s fascinating to watch a great actress assume the mantle of muse and run with it. . .

Right off we know that Adjmi’s Marie isn’t Marie; her language isn’t in the tradition of stage royals, particularly as imagined by American actors performing the “classics.” Rather we’re in something more modern . . . Adjmi’s brilliance is to use trashy vernacular speech to allude to the way history trashes us. . .

The full review (along with lots more) is available as a PDF file at the SoHo Rep website.