TABOOS
(by Carl Djerassi)
Review excerpts
(London run at New End Theatre, Feb. – April
2006)
This is a
MUST see play, by far one of the best performances I�ve seen and another major
triumph for everyone involved.... You�ll definitely walk away thinking about
where you stand on the issues it raises.
Marcela Olivares, IndieLONDON (www.indielondon.co.uk)
TABOOS is an excellent piece of work that
is multi-layered and intelligently written. It�s a thought-provoking play
that�s a pleasure to watch and includes stand-out performances from the whole
cast. It�s a highly recommended night at the theatre.
Charlotte Cooper, Rainbow Network (www.rainbownetwork.com)
A play that�s
worth seeing because it explores complex moral and ethical dilemmas - many of
which may seem insoluble.
Peter Brown, London Theatre (www.londontheatre.co.uk)
Entertaining
and thought-provoking play�. We may think we are ethics-savvy in this day and
age, but the reality may be something else entirely. The bestowal of this
awareness, in the end, is one of the best things about TABOOS.
Jennifer Rohn, LabLit (www.lablit.com/article/87)
Funny
sexy science takes centre stage.
The Press (Hendon &
Finchley edition), March 9, 2006
Lovely
performances� enchanting. Djerassi gives us a lot to think about confused
family relationships resulting from scientific experimentation� Black comedy.
Aline Waites, Ham & High, March 10, 2006, p. VIII
Taboos
really couldn�t be more current... The changes we are witnessing in Djerassi�s
�Sex in an age of mechanical reproduction� throws up serious ethical dilemmas,
but they also offer exciting opportunities to renegotiate the social and
political networks in which we operate.
Helen
Birtwistle, Culture Wars, March 13, 2006 (www.culturewars.org.uk)
Having grappled with such issues as test-tube
reproduction and scientific fraud, Djerassi now explores the implications of
modern fertility techniques or, as one character describes it, �a spectacularly
complicated reproductive mess among adults, not all of them consenting� a
comedy fertilised by a �what if?� case study.
Ian Johns, The Times (London), March 15, 2006.
A stage
full of scientific and ethical viewpoints� Djerassi manages to make this comedy
of genetic muddle strangely gripping.
Fiona
Mountford, Evening Standard
(London), March 15,
2006.
Ultimately, the issues the play raises about the
power that new reproductive technologies give us, and the choices we may have
to make because of them, are issues that society as a whole will have to face.
Alom Shana, Resonance Productions (www.resonancetv.com/tvtimes),
March 19, 2006
The show is... entertaining, and in the end leaves
you with a new perception on artificial pregnancies, especially the role of the
donor parent.
Emanuel Nordrum, CityNeighbours (www.cityneighbours.com/articles)
This
thought provoking, hugely enjoyable play should not be missed.
Judith M Steiner, Theatreworld
Internet Magazine
Sparks
fly when Harriet and Sally try for a baby.
Hannah Glickstein, Camden New Journal, March 22, 2006.
Rugby
ball theatre... there are exciting complications at every turn. In the ethical
crossfire that follows, Djerassi seems to have weighted the arguments as evenly
as possible.
Kieron Quirke, Time Out (London), March 29, 2006.
EXTRACTS OF REVIEWS FROM New York City PRODUCTION
(SoHo Playhouse, Sept. – Oct. 2008)
TABOOS
BY Carl Djerassi
�As an educational
experience on some of the possibilities of modern reproductive science, TABOOS
is very effective� a very human and compassionate drama by a very smart
writer.�
Danny
Bowes, nytheatre.com, Sept. 14, 2008
�Just about every
potential emotional, religious, and legal entanglement that could arise from
alternative means of reproduction is dealt with gingerly in Carl Djerassi�s lively
comedy-drama. TABOOS, in Djerassi�s vernacular, is an easy—and yet
provocative—pill to swallow.�
Ron
Cohen, backstage.com (Sept. 19, 2008).
��one brilliant scene
involves three dolls on a dining room table. They represent three children who
have been creatively parented by five people—a lesbian couple, a married
couple, and a lawyer�. In a silent argument, the parents keep moving the dolls
toward whichever person they feel should raise the children. Each move is also a bleakly witty
metaphor, reminding us that parents can use their children to get what they
want.�
Mark
Blankenship, VARIETY, Sept. 19, 2008.
�After seeing
TABOOS�forget about believing in God�s will; imagine having to deal with twins
borne to two mothers, a lesbian couple picking sides of who�s the mother of
what child, a father who�s an uncle to his biological son� Djerassi shows a
natural playwright�s sensibilities for dialogue, social dynamics, and
constructing a scene.�
Ethan
Stanislawski, BC Blogcritics Magazine, September 21, 2008.
�TABOOS is a
powerful examination of the numerous conundrums that can flow from decoupling
reproduction from sex� simply a fine drama.�
Rudy Baum, Chemical and Engineering News, Sept. 22, 2008.
�Bottom line: Our
highest recommendation: hilarious, profound, compelling drama about what makes
you a parent�. The performances of the 5-actor ensemble are among the best I
have seen this year, on or off-Broadway�. One of the most rewarding evenings
you have ever spent in the theater.
Ronald
Gross, New York Theater Buying Guide, September 23, 2008
�Carl Djerassi has
prevented a lot of pregnancies—in addition to being a playwright, he is
an inventor of the birth control pill—but in his play TABOOS there is a
mini population explosion.... It�s all an opportunity for Mr. Djerassi to
discourse on the new emotional terrain that science opened up with artificial
insemination and other reproductive techniques. Romantic love, parental love,
biological connection, family, marriage: these themes and more turn up as
TABOOS unfolds. The play, although not a comedy, has some delicious humorous
moments.�
Neil
Genzlinger. The New York Times, September 24, 2008.
�TABOOS mines some
thought-provoking territory in its quest to decipher the ethical, emotional,
familial, and legal ramifications of reproductive technology�. Djerassi is blessed with a director and
a cast fully committed to breathing life into their characters and situations.�
Diane
Snyder, TimeOut New York, September. 25, 2008
�With its breathtaking
take on medical breakthroughs and brittle breaks in human spirit, TABOOS taps
topics that would have Freud hiding for cover under his couch. Couched in
modern-day language and its litany of woes, the play is fertile ground for
Peter Pan-sexual fantasy as birth mothers and fathers are interconnected
through an umbilical cord immersed in controversy.
Michael
Elkin, Jewish Exponent, September 25, 2008
�TABOOS is composed of
science straight from a reliable source and emotions portrayed by a talented
cast, making the production a thought-provoking success.�
Sara Hottman, Show Business Weekly, September 30, 2008