Review: ECHOES at 59E59 is Poignant and Haunting

"Marriage is not about love, it's an arrangement."

-ECHOES

59E59 Theaters has launched the 2016 Brits Off Broadway festival with the highly acclaimed play, ECHOES, written by Henry Naylor, and directed by Mr. Naylor and Emma Buttler. ECHOES will be on a limited engagement through Wednesday, May 4th. See this emotive two-hander that will take your breath away. Wonderfully staged and superbly acted, it is a haunting, poignant show.

ECHOES tells the parallel stories of Tillie and Samira who are born 175 years apart. Each of them travels from England to the East where their idealistic values are destroyed by husbands who are authoritarian and physically abusive. Tillie is a Victorian woman and a Christian, who marries "The Leftenant." Her life in Afghanistan becomes unbearable when she realizes the oppression of the local people and her husband's cruelty. Samira is a present-day Islamist schoolgirl who travels to the Middle East to marry a man from the Islamic State that she meets online. Their stories are set in different times and the women have divergent backgrounds. Yet, there are remarkable similarities in the struggles they each face. Their journeys are moving, at times shocking, and completely captivating.

Felicity Houlbrooke as Tillie and Filipa Braganca as Samira are extraordinary in their roles. The women deftly assume multiple parts to develop their individual stories. They master their characters with complete authenticity. You will be spellbound by their performances.

The creative team brings ECHOES to live with set design by Henry Naylor, costume design by Adrian Gwillym and lighting design by Ross Bibby. The AEA Stage Manager is Sofia Montgomery.

Don't miss ECHOES. It is an important piece of theater, wonderfully crafted and brilliantly executed.

ECHOES is Produced by Redbeard Theatre Ltd and Gilded Balloon Productions. It is the Winner of the prestigious Mervyn Sutter Spirit of the Fringe Award at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe. The show runs for 50 minutes with no intermission. The performance schedule is Tuesday - Thursday at 7:15 PM;? Friday at 8:15 PM;? Saturday at 2:15 PM & 8:15 PM;? and Sunday at 3:15 PM. Performances are at 59E59 Theaters (59 East 59th Street, between Park and Madison Avenues). Tickets are $25 ($17.50 for 59E59 Members). To purchase tickets, call Ticket Central at (212) 279-­4200 or visit www.59e59.org.

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Photo Credit: Carol Rosegg

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