Last night, San Francisco Theater Pub made the leap to its first full production with the opening of Vaclav Havel’s AUDIENCE. About forty people came out to the opening performance – both old friends and new faces – and we broke records with audience donations.
The evening was a very different performance experience than previous Theater Pub events. Staged in the round and riding a fine line between tragedy and comedy, the mood of AUDIENCE‘s was subdued but focused, occasionally interrupted by a spasmic laugh.
Nathan Tucker and Paul Stout, in the roles of Vanek on the Foreman, deftly navigated the linguistic obstacle course of Havel’s writing – capturing the meandering dialogue that is at times convivial, aggressive, desperate, or cripplingly awkward.
AUDIENCE runs for four more performances – Monday April 19, Tuesday April 20, Monday May 3 and Tuesday May 4. 8pm every night, admission free. After last night’s performance, several audience members expressed interest in coming again to see it with another crowd (or watch it from another part of the bar). The show will be gone before you know it, so help us to spread the word.
-Victor Carrion, Stuart Bousel, Bennett Fisher, Brian Markley
San Francisco Theater Pub 