The Acharnians - The Review Page

The Acharnians
NEW CITY TIP OF THE WEEK

If you are easily offended, a Christian fundamentalist, a fan of our current sitting president, or have some sort of a phallic phobia, this is not the play for you. For everyone else, it's one hell of a giddy, "South Park"-induced, triple-caffeinated, timely and witty rehash of Aristophanes' comedy, The Acharnians. Never studied the ancient Greeks? No problem. Director Karin Shook and performer Kerstin Broockmann have adapted this play so clearly to present day circumstances, there's something strangely subversive about it. The plot in a nutshell: the U.S. decides to bomb Canada in an effort to clear the way for oil drilling, and only Vox Populi, a pure and earnest tie-dye wearing "everyman," objects and attempts to forge peace with our "quiet and classier" neighbor. Tripaway Theatre's use of commedia dell'arte (theater masks—think "Phantom of the Opera") enables the performers and the audience to go places they might not were the actors' faces exposed. Broockmann deserves serious props for her writing ability. Annette D'Ariano is fantastic in a clean and composed performance as Vox Populi. Chris Genebach's outrageously spot-on depiction of Georgius W. Bushiphallus is the funniest mix of satire, insanity and intelligence this side of the Beltway. Genebach is definitely someone to look for in the future his convincing versatility, effortless nuance and sheer energy are a testament to his talent and potential.
- Nina Metz, New City

The Acharnians

Everything from inept politicians and the flawed election recount system to organized religion to e-commerce ("you can buy through the air with the greatest of ease") is under fire in Aristophanes' 2,500 year-old play The Acharnians, as it has been gleefully and freely adapted by Karin Shook and Kerstin Broockmann. This Tripaway Theatre production recalls the political and satirical zing of Second City. Aristophanes' bitingly comic anti-war treaty concerns a battle between the ruthlessly capitalistic United States and the "quiet, classier-than-us" Canada for the oil-rich land of Alaska. Caught in the middle is the peace-loving common man, Vox Populi, who seeks to organize a private truce between the two countries. Vox seeks the wisdom of Jesus and his fellow mythical side-kick, the Tooth Fairy. He tries to "borrow" a family from the ultra-right wing Focus on the Family's TBD (To Be Destroyed) file. These are the families that don't meet the organization's ultra high standards (i.e. white, upper-class, heterosexual and drug-free). Vox must side-step a book-censoring Executive Board and the "compassionate conservative" agenda of America's commander in grief, Georgius W. Bushiphallus, who never had an original thought that wasn't planted by his daddy. Shook and Broockmann's adaptation is a zany assault on everything American and/or hypocritical. "The Acharnians" is blithely offensive and wildly imaginative, with overtly Freudian phallus symbols everywhere (and not entirely out of place on the same stage Bailiwick shares with Naked Boys Singing). The three actors (Broockmann, Annette D’Ariano and Chris Genebach) have a fun house trove of off-kilter masks and puppets to play with. The most versatile of the performers, Genebach is a riot as the hilariously gullible, childish and temperamental President.
- Joe Stead, Steadstyle Chicago

The Acharnians by Tripaway Theatre
Minnesota Fringe Festival Performed at the Whitney Studio

Chicago's Tripaway Theatre is clearly a politically provocative troupe whose updated version of Aristiphanes's Fifth Century B.C. comedy has been adapted by Karin Shook and Kerstin Broockmann to address the drifts of the current G. 'W'. Bush administration from controversial elections to ecological concerns over rejecting of the Kyoto accords to corporate favoritism. Director Shook has conceptualized her production in guerrilla theatre style of the '60s with humorous masks and rubber codpieces -- I suppose you might call them -- to make a pungent political statement. This statement may be debatable but it's of a far higher intellectual caliber than the immature political satire against both the American Left and Right that one sees nowadays on television and so many comedy clubs that have come to jeeringly, haphazardly influence and trivialize substantive political discussion. Shook's cast is electrifying in their comic delivery and physicality. And, to be sure, the Left is spoofed as well. Consider melting down all the guns to make acupuncture needles. In sum, Tripaway's "The Acharnians" is political satire at its best.
-John Townsend, Lavender Magazine