IRC_Bald Soprano #1

The Bald Soprano 2017

by Eugène Ionesco, translated by Donald M. Allen

The Bethany Mission Gallery
September 5 – 24, 2017
Directed by Tina Brock

Setting

A middle-class English interior, with English armchairs, and an English couch, on an English evening

Running time is approximately 70 minutes, with no intermission.

Bald Soprano 3
Mrs. Smith
Tina Brock
Mr. Smith
Bob Schmidt
Mary the Maid
Tomas Dura
Mr. Martin
John Zak*
Mrs. Martin
Sonja Robson
The Fire Chief
Arlen Hancock

Costume Designer

Erica Hoelscher

Assistant Costume Designer

Jessica Barksdale

Set Design

Bethany Mission Gallery, Erica Hoelscher & Tina Brock

Sound Design

Tina Brock

Production Stage Manager/Box Office Manager

Chris Kubat

Bell Hop

Mark Williams

Artistic Associate

Lee Pucklis

Photoshop Magic

Bill Brock

Photography

Johanna Austin / AustinArt.org

over Art
Wenn ich mir nur Fanny abgewöhnen könnt!
(If I could just stop yearning for Fanny!)
Adapted from the original by Willy Engel-Berger & Peter Herz,
published by Gabor Steiner Verlag
(Wien, 1923) and illustrated by Dura

 

As we continue to wrestle with the very nature of truth and the absurd, IRC’s is a welcome reminder that these questions are not just problems of the 21st century.
– Josh Herren, Phindie.com

 

She always wears her hair in the same style,” Mrs. Smith replies. That may be true for her, but the IRC is more than willing to change with the times.
– Cameron Kelsall, Broad Street Review.com

Reviews

The Bald Soprano (2017)

“...What’s the use of absurdist theater? Because without them there would be no Monty Python, that brilliant troupe of English and American comics whose contribution to television and film in the 1970s and 1980s will outlast the collapse of Western culture.”
--Tirdad Derakhshani, Philadelphia Inquirer
The Bald Soprano (2017)

“...(the IRC) is the go-to stage company for anything absurd. In fact, the reason this "Bald Soprano" makes any sense (in a strange way) is its six excellent actors, who deliver it as if they understand it perfectly.”
--Howard Shapiro, NPR, NewsWorks.org
The Bald Soprano (2017)

“...With its expert presentation of Eugène Ionesco’s The Bald Soprano, The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium has successfully opened this year’s Fringe with an affecting, provocative, and disturbingly relevant bang!”
--Deb Miller, DC Metro Arts
The Bald Soprano (2017)

Director's Notes

 

We’re delighted you’ve joined us!

On tonight’s menu, a delightful confection from the master of the Absurdist form, Eugène Ionesco. Written in 1951, this is the author’s first play, and the one that ushered in the beautiful, surreal, tragically comic anti-plays that redefined theatre in the mid-20th century.

Ionesco envisioned The Bald Soprano as a “tragedy of language” when he was inspired to write the play while attempting to learn English from a primer. Audiences responded as if he had written a comedy and so the legend began. Since 1957, it has been in performance at the Théâtre de la Huchette in Paris and holds the world record for a play having been staged continuously in the same theatre for the longest time.

The IRC’s work this summer on this production has provided an illuminating journey given our nation’s current communication condition. When the IRC was founded over a decade ago, the question was posed if sufficient material existed in the absurdist canon to forge a robust future. The reality today is that life off stage is far more absurd than Ionesco’s plays might ever have predicted. As we struggle to hold fast to the value of the truth and meaning of language we asked ourselves what it means in a modern world to have a substantive conversation, how frequently does that happen, and how are we transformed at the end of the interaction?

The IRC cast and crew are indebted to Victor Keen and Jeanne Ruddy for providing the space and the freedom to explore Ionesco’s topsy-turvy world. This story, told at this time in our country’s history, in this beautiful and stimulating environment, seems a synchronous artistic union. The IRC is a well-kept success story: since 2006 our loyal and growing audience has followed our journey and helped the IRC to flourish. If this is your first IRC experience, please sign our mailing list when you exit and spread the word.

“A strange phenomenon took place…the text began imperceptibly to change before my eyes…the clichés and truisms of the conversation primer which once made sense gave way to pseudo-clichés and pseudo-truisms; these disintegrated into wild caricature and parody, and in the end language disintegrated into disjointed fragments of words.” -- playwright Eugene Ionesco on writing The Bald Soprano.

Thank you for being here. Your support of our wonderfully diverse and thriving Philadelphia arts community is greatly appreciated.

Tina Brock
Producing Artistic Director