Review: THE WRITER at Théâtre Des Capucins

This weekend, Broadway World attended the premiere of The Writer, hosted by the Théâtre des Capucins. Directed by Claire Thill, the play goes over gender and interpersonal dynamics in the world of art and in society as a whole. Given the polarizing and often politicized nature of the topic, we were curious to see how the matter was approached throughout the play. Both in content and format, we were pleasantly surprised.

The gold: The nuance. One of the tiresome realities of modern plays is that their characters or narratives often deal in absolutes. Or they will, at least, seek to set up a social environment where even the hero's (modest) flaws can be attributed to invisible and irredeemable structures of tyranny. This play did an amazing job at displaying different levels of the same social and interpersonal issues, offering a story that not only stimulates thought and debate, but is also relatable to most of the audience.

The silver: Jenny Beacraft and Daron Yates. The two leading performers gave us some of the best acting in recent months, with Beacraft shining through long and complex pieces of dialogue with remarkable depth and emotion and Yates displaying an impressive versatility, ranging from sober moments of reflection to impressive comedic subtlety.

The bronze: The storytelling. The different layers of intertwined narrative were presented with great taste and tact, with the script-level storyline adapting organically to the main narrative. Literature and theatre are pretty much overwhelmed with stories about writers, so it is always delightful to watch a play where the trope is approached in a dynamic and refreshing way.

As usual, our thanks to the Grand Théâtre and everyone involved.

To reach out to the writer: nuno.de.sousa.lopes@gmail.com

Photo Credit: Jeannine Unsen