okay – time to play a little bit of catch-up:

Last Wednesday we went to see Fiona Shaw in Deborah Warner’s staging of Happy Days at BAM. Fantastic!  Though I imagine I must have seen one of their more recent collaborations, still I was reminded of their stunning staging of The Waste Land in 1996. Fiona Shaw is just an extraordinary actress, able to bring the deepest meanings to the slightest phrases. In her hands this difficult text opened up into a wonderfully rich, funny and sorrowful meditation on time, loss, aging, futility, memory and hope. It is also a disturbing examination of relationships and, in general, I think about women. Or about the different ways men and women might cope with the existential void.

Thursday we were at HERE Arts Center to see The South Wing‘s work-in-progress presentation of The Gospel According to Jack Vitrolo which looks promising. After the show we met up with our friends from REDCAT for a few drinks and to catch up on all the UTR/APAP gossip.

Friday we went to LeeSaar The Company‘s showcase of its new work GEISHA at the 92nd St. Y. It is really great and will premiere March 5-9 at the Harkness Dance Festival at the Ailey Center.

Saturday we spent the entire day at UTR. We saw four great shows: This Place Is A Desert,  Disinformation, Poetics and Terminus. We had a great time hanging in the lobby and talking with presenters and artists. It was particularly exciting to see his Place Is A Desert and Poetics, as I was seeing my third different work of each of the directors. Both Scheib and Liska have particular and compelling visions, they explore different themes and employ different methodologies, but they continue to evolve in interesting ways. Really great stuff all around. We’re going to try and see as much of the rest of UTR this week, if possible.

Sunday we went to see Deganit Shemy‘s new piece Iodine at PS122. Its official run is February 5-10. We’ve been following Ms. Shemy’s work since we first saw it at The A.W.A.R.D. show in 2006. Her work is dark, intense, complex and disturbing. Mark your calendar now!

Sunday night we headed down to the Soho Rep to see Sybil Kempson & Mike Iveson’s workshop of Crime & Emergency which was a fun and funny freakout of a show. Kind Kiki & Herb meets Bruce Springsteen meets Experimental Theater. And a good time was had by all!

And tonight, Tuesday, we keep it rolling Broadway-style with Mamet’s November at the Barrymore. We’ll keep you posted!

Phew!