Oct 17

One Out of Three Ain’t Good: “A Number”

Photo by Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures

Photo by Andrew Brilliant / Brilliant Pictures

Presented by New Rep Theatre
Written by Caryl Churchill
Directed by Clay Hopper

Oct. 10 – Nov. 1, 2015
Arsenal Center for the Arts
Watertown, MA
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Review by Kitty Drexel

Apologies to the cast, crew and staff of A Number. Mrs. Drexel caught the sniffle plague and was unable to write intelligibly.

(Watertown, MA) Churchill throws us into the middle of the conflict: Salter (Dale Place) and son are violently discussing the son’s birth origins. Regardless of the half-truths Salter weaves, it is made clear that the Bernards (Nael Nacer) is one of any number of clones. The Bernards hate each other. Salter must come to terms with his rash decision to play God. In her pithy way, Churchill approaches identity, the morality of cloning by way of personal property, and the timeless conflict between nature and nurture. Continue reading

Jan 26

‘A Number’ of Sons

Mark Cohen and Danny Bryck, Photo Credit by Whistler in the Dark

 

A Number by Caryl Churchill, Whistler in the DarkThe Factory Theatre, 1/20/12-2/4/12, (in repertory with Fen by Caryl Churchill),  http://www.whistlerinthedark.com/productions/wantedsomething.html.

Reviewed by Becca Kidwell

(Boston, MA) If you were/are a parent, what would you do if you had a chance to fix the mistakes you made raising your child?  As a child, what would you do if your parents told you that you were not their original child, but a new, improved version made to fix the mistakes they made with their first child?  Caryl Churchill’s play, A Number deals with a controversial matter:  cloning.  Since the Dolly the sheep was cloned in the late nineties, fear and wonder has surrounded the possibility of cloning a human being.  This play speculates on what might result from such a procedure and the repercussions of such a decision upon a father and his son. Continue reading