September 18 - October 19, 2008
at the Manny Fried Playhouse
 PALACE OF THE END
by Judith Thompson
Three
monologues about the true human cost of the War in Iraq
Directed by Virginia Brannon*
Starring Kelly Beuth*, Lawrence Rowswell*, and Dana Block*
Three Stars!!!
"The impact of 'PALACE OF THE
END' could hardly be greater."
-- Colin Dabkowski, Buffalo News 9/20/08
Click here to read this
review
"A superlative first production in the new Manny Fried Playhouse."
-- Willy Rogue Donaldson, Nightlife Magazine 9/23/08
Click here to read this
review
We couldn't have asked for a more fitting play to
present for Subversive Theatre's first ever production in our new home at the
Manny Fried Playhouse. PALACE OF THE END by Canadian playwright
Judith Thompson captured the enormity of the human toll of the Iraq War with
gut-wrenching intensity.
Fresh from debuts in NYC, L.A., and Toronto,
this only slightly fictionalized play was made up entirely of three
incendiary monologues from three totally different perspectives that
vividly illustrated the suffering on both sides of the conflict.
The first monologue performed by Kelly Beuth*
showed a former Abu Graib
prison guard (an obvious reference to the real-life Private Lynndie England)
telling the whole story behind the photographs of grotesque torture
techniques employed by her and other soldiers on helpless
prisoners.
In the second monologue, British weapons inspector
Dr. David Kelley -- portrayed passionately by actor Lawrence Rowswell*
-- tells
his story of how he came to blow the whistle on his Government's phony
case for invading Iraq . . . as he quietly bleeds to death just outside of
London.
In the third and most powerful monologue, actress
Dana Block* gave earth-shatteringly powerful performance as the
real-life activist Nehrjas Al-Saffarh -- an Iraqi
woman who endured unspeakable torture at the hands of Saddam Hussein's Secret
Police as they persecuted her husband, a leading figure in the Iraqi Communist Party.
Winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for
2008, PALACE OF THE END offered a timeless denunciation of war while simultaneously speaking out on
many of the most pressing issues of our time.
It was an honor to bring this courageous work to life.
Here's who did what: THE
CREW
Director . . . . . . . . . Virginia Brannon*
Stage Manager . . . . . . Travis Hedland
Set/Costume Design . Dyan O'Connell*
Light Design . . Carlie Todoro-Rickus*
Sound Design . . . . . . . John Shotwell*
Make-Up Design . . . Kelly M. Beuth*
Poster Design . . . Kurt Schneiderman*
Block's Dialect Coach . . Kristen Scott
Voiceover Voice . . . . . . Ayman Yasin THE CAST
Soldier . . . . . . . . . . . Kelly M. Beuth*
Dr. Kelley . . . . . Lawrence Rowswell*
Nehrjas Al-Saffarh . . . . . Dana Block*
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