Ian Thal

Nov 15, 2024 | washingtoncitypaper.com | Ian Thal

Thanks for being a member of City Paper! The idea of a robot uprising against humanity is such a staple of science fiction that it’s easy to forget that the idea came from somewhere. That somewhere is R.U.R. or Rossum’s Universal Robots, a 1921 play by Czech playwright Karel Čapek.

Nov 5, 2024 | washingtoncitypaper.com | Ian Thal

Thanks for being a member of City Paper! The two-part epic, Angels in America may be Tony Kushner’s best known play, but for the past decade A Bright Room Called Day, which premiered in 1985 before Kushner was hailed as a star of the American theater, has become the one most frequently performed. The revived interest seems to coincide with the entry of Donald Trump into national politics.

Oct 11, 2024 | artsfuse.org | Ian Thal

By Robert IsraelThe script is an experiment, a (sometimes) witty lecture on language. But it doesn’t work dramatically. Nassim, a play by Nassim Soleimanpour. Directed by Omar Elerian. Presented by the Huntington Theatre Company, Calderwood Pavilion, Boston Center for the Arts, 527 Tremont St., Boston, MA, through Oct. 27. Nassim Soleimanpour is an Iranian expatriate now living in Germany who travels internationally to present his work. His family lives in the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Oct 10, 2024 | artsfuse.org | Robert Mack |Ian Thal

By Robert Steven MackCritic John DiLeo argues that even the Academy Awards can make mistakes. And, in the process, he constructs an alternate history of who should or should not have been Oscar nominees. Not Even Nominated: 40 Overlooked Costars of Oscar-Winning Performances by John DiLeo. G Letters, 320 pages, $33.25. Ostentatious gowns, slick comic monologues, an occasional streaker — the glitzy happenings at the Academy Awards ceremony have made it one of America’s cultural touchstones.

Aug 6, 2024 | washingtoncitypaper.com | Ian Thal

Thanks for being a member of City Paper! Even before the play begins with a bird crashing into the window of a medieval manor with an explosion of black feathers, one is left with the impression that Faction of Fools’ current production of Jen Silverman’s The Moors may be the most ambitious show since Francesca Chilcote and Kathryn Zoerb took over as co-artistic directors of the commedia dell’arte troupe in 2020.