253:, Stanton B. Garner, Jr. lauded the second act as "remarkable" and described the play as "a powerful account of the confusions and ambiguities attendant upon a revolution that lacked the apparent moral and political clarity" of other revolutions. Garner praised Churchill's script as having "intelligence, craft, and energy". The reviewer praised Churchill for accomplished scene-shaping and gestures that are "richly representative of life under and in the wake of totalitarianism."
348:"ends up being a bit drawn out and unwieldy, but it’s still well worth the trip." Beth Schachter, who directed a performance of the play, said in 2014, "Working on that production gave me insight into what is going on underneath the words, and more importantly, underneath the silences. This play clarifies what so often goes unsaid between people in difficult situations."
320:"still feels vivid and fresh". Chris Klimek wrote in 2011 that it captures the bedlam of a society in rapid upheaval, but also that "Churchill’s diversions into surrealism are often clearer than the more naturalistic stretches, where even after nearly three hours, some relationships remain opaque." Barbara Lounsberry of
307:'s Jamie Searle described the play as a "bold, striking" drama, writing that the second act of eye-witness accounts "gives us a powerful insight into the developing events and their impact on the people, the confusion, disbelief, hope and bravery shown against the seemingly invulnerable state machine."
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stated, "Revolution is never black and white, and
Churchill wisely dwells in uncertainty and targets the surreal nature of social and political shifts in a world where the more things change, the more they stay the same." However, the critic found the "realistic aspects" of Act 3 problematic because
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and ten Speech and Drama students to research the play. They stayed with
Romanian drama students and their families, and worked with about 40 Romanian drama students to develop the play. Wing-Davey even had the chance to interview a former Securitate agent, who became a character in the play. Within
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lauded the work as a "harrowing, stirring, sometimes overpowering look at
Romania" that "brings together disparate styles to create political theater of truly epic proportions and revelatory meaning." Johnson wrote, "While 'Mad Forest' sometimes works abstractly ultimately this is a clear, even
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wrote that the surrealist scenes "aren’t sufficiently illuminating to justify their inclusion in an otherwise very worldly play", and that the play's complexities could strain audience interest. However, Isherwood also dubbed the final scene "a comic, appropriately cacophonous end to a play that
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two years later, writing (of four days important in the play's universe) that "Churchill remarkably does not oversimplify the action, imparting an extraordinary amount of detail with confident economy." With regards to a character's discussion of possible conspiracies, Meisel argued that "these
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draws scrutiny on all of her family and associates. The second act—using the same actors to portray an entirely different set of characters—recounts the events of
December 21–December 25, 1989 in Bucharest. The third act, set largely in a hospital where one of the characters from Act I is
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wrote in 2011, "I wish the long Act III could be pruned. It didn't register as powerfully for me as the first two very different acts-although the post-revolution fear, paranoia, guilt, and myriad questions certainly come through." Myron Meisel reviewed the play positively in
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The first act ("Lucia's
Wedding") and the third act ("Florina's Wedding) are dramatic fictions. The second act ("December") is based on interviews conducted by the playwright, a director, and ten Romanian student actors.
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criticized the play as "disconnected". Rosenstein also stated that the second act, "a sort of living newspaper version of the revolution," is weaker than the first and third acts. Charles
Isherwood of
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is elliptical and atmospheric … In Act III … paroxysms of xenophobia and paranoia … often seem even more frightening than the sullen episodes of repression that preceded them." Malcolm L. Johnson of
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character, but later through others) whether what occurred in
Romania was a revolution or a putsch; and finally ends in "drunken revelry and sadistic, retributive violence."
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a full 18 months after the London opening, the piece has not dated the way that newspaper accounts of the same history already have. … The technique of
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stands on land that used to be an impenetrable forest "impenetrable by the foreigner who did not know the paths", known to "the horsemen of the
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issues of what really happened continue unresolved nearly 25 years on, a testament to the durability of
Churchill’s insights into the events."
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Frank Rich, reviewing the New York premiere, called the play "just as surprising, inventive and disturbing as the author's '
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While much of the play is naturalistic, it also includes several surreal passages: minor characters include an
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in North London" performed by the Speech and Drama students. The following autumn it was staged at London's
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recovering from injuries sustained during the fighting engage matters such as
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reverberates with the profound messiness of human history." Jeremy Gerard of the same magazine called
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and many conflicting views as the extent to which the events
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706:"Review: Theatre UNI succeeds with haunting, complex 'Mad Forest,' innovative direction"
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premiere November 22, 1991 at the Perry Street Theatre. The New York cast included
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of absurdity of the questions the characters were facing. Webb wrote that
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received favorable reviews, although some felt it had "rough edges". In
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101:(Romania's secret police), in which one young woman's engagement to an
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406:, 5 December 1991, p. C15. Accessible online; requires registration.
516:"'MAD FOREST' OFFERS POWERFUL VIEW OF ROMANIA -- BEFORE, AFTER AND"
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147:" in the early part of the play is later overwhelmed by "a more
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two months of their return to England it was in production.
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in the 1930s, questions (initially through the vehicle of a
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Witchel, Alex . "'Mad Forest' comes to Perry Street",
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471:Garner, Stanton B. (1992). "Review of Mad Forest".
758:"'Mad Forest' Proves Denser and Madder Than Ever"
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680:"Mad Forest at Forum Theatre, Reviewed"
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618:Searle, Jamie (27 February 2007).
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184:Central School of Speech and Drama
151:form of theater": it introduces a
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1276:Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen
903:Light Shining in Buckinghamshire
323:The Waterloo-Cedar Falls Courier
39:. The play is mostly written in
1246:You've No Need to be Frightened
1056:Drunk Enough to Say I Love You?
730:Meisel, Myron (19 March 2013).
178:In March 1990, commissioned by
21:Mad Forest: A Play from Romania
882:Objections to Sex and Violence
592:Gerard, Jeremy (16 May 1996).
43:, but has several passages in
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756:Webb, Jennie (1 April 2013).
644:Gardner, Lyn (27 July 2009).
299:"brilliant" in a review of a
1198:Adaptations and translations
1178:Lives of the Great Poisoners
732:"Mad Forest: Theater Review"
710:Waterloo Cedar Falls Courier
159:, who collaborated with the
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16:1990 play by Caryl Churchill
1023:Three More Sleepless Nights
445:, 13 September 1991. p. C2.
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373:at the Penthouse Theater,
200:had already played in the
1381:Plays by Caryl Churchill
1157:Opera, dance and cabaret
1085:War and Peace Gaza Piece
375:University of Washington
93:The first act is set in
1331:The Legion Hall Bombing
1099:Tickets Are Now on Sale
856:Having a Wonderful Time
546:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
429:, 25 July 1990. p. C11.
369:Program, production of
285:Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
282:Anna Rosenstein of the
1401:Plays set in the 1980s
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381:, February–March 2007.
330:The Hollywood Reporter
1324:The After-Dinner Joke
876:Moving Clocks Go Slow
684:Washington City Paper
316:quipped in 2009 that
49:Deşteaptă-te, române!
1391:Plays set in Romania
1071:Ding Dong the Wicked
993:Love and Information
620:"Review: Mad Forest"
301:later Churchill play
1171:A Mouthful of Birds
1134:Bluebeard's Friends
379:Seattle, Washington
214:Royal Court Theatre
174:Performance history
1360:Max Stafford-Clark
459:The New York Times
455:Bernstein, Richard
443:The New York Times
426:The New York Times
404:The New York Times
108:Hungarian minority
37:Revolution of 1989
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396:Rich, Frank
117:coup d'état
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28:playwright
1386:1990 plays
1375:Categories
1310:Television
1092:Here We Go
977:Blue Heart
961:Mad Forest
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862:Easy Death
850:Downstairs
371:Mad Forest
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493:0192-2882
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291:Variety
260:' and '
204:and on
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153:vampire
149:surreal
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26:English
1345:(1987)
1339:(1982)
1337:Crimes
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1327:(1978)
1319:(1973)
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1145:(2019)
1137:(2019)
1129:(2019)
1121:(2019)
1113:(2017)
1107:(2016)
1101:(2015)
1095:(2015)
1087:(2014)
1081:(2016)
1073:(2013)
1067:(2009)
1059:(2006)
1051:(2000)
1043:(1999)
1037:(1989)
1031:(1987)
1025:(1980)
996:(2012)
988:(2002)
980:(1997)
972:(1994)
964:(1990)
956:(1989)
950:(1987)
942:(1984)
936:(1983)
930:(1983)
922:(1982)
914:(1979)
906:(1976)
898:(1976)
890:(1976)
884:(1975)
878:(1973)
872:(1972)
869:Owners
864:(1960)
858:(1960)
852:(1958)
793:12 May
767:12 May
741:12 May
715:11 May
689:12 May
663:12 May
656:
629:13 May
603:14 May
577:13 May
551:12 May
525:12 May
499:
491:
180:London
145:satire
70:" as "
68:steppe
1343:Fugue
1225:Bliss
1184:Hotel
1118:Glass
888:Traps
497:JSTOR
155:; an
137:ghost
129:angel
1126:Kill
795:2020
769:2020
743:2020
717:2020
691:2020
665:2020
654:ISSN
631:2020
605:2020
579:2020
553:2020
527:2020
489:ISSN
232:and
131:, a
76:see
1142:Imp
927:Fen
481:doi
305:BBC
262:Fen
182:'s
81:).
58:by
51:".
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