There's a prevalent stereotype in theatre circles about dramas by playwrights from the British Isles. They're dark. The world sucks and the life of man is nasty, brutish and short. As it happens, A Red Orchid Theatre has made much of its reputation producing just that sort of play, so the connection of first-time Scottish playwright Gregory Burke and this small but venerable Chicago theatre seems fortuitous.

Burke's 90-minute drama of the working man tells the story of two blue-collar employees of a soulless multinational who combine their respective interest in Communism and violence to try to make a statement by kidnapping and killing an executive from their company. A security guard gets involved by mistake and things don't quite turn out as expected. But, of course, they definitely work out violently, and nihilism triumphs.

It almost seems that Burke's arguing that, while the pen may be mightier than the sword in the long run, in the short run the guy with the sword can make a pretty persuasive argument. Fortunately for the audience, all of his characters, be they on the pen side or the sword side, make their points eloquently and humorously, once we breach the initial barrier of the thick accents. Director Karen Kessler keeps things moving briskly, and nicely foreshadows the violence to come in the brisk conversation between the vaguely frightening Eddie (Michael Shannon) and the naïve security guard (Steve Schine). Guy Van Swearingen does nice work as Eddie's conspirator Gary, a man who wishes he was a threat, but clearly isn't. John Judd's Frank, the corporate kidnappee, clearly longs for his fate, even though we can't totally see why.

Robert G. Smith's set perfectly captures a packing room in a computer factory and there's decent fight work from Kirsten Fitzgerald, although I wish there had been some knaps for the couple of times someone got clocked with a pistol butt. All in all, Gagarin Way gets a very tight production from A Red Orchid, even as it fulfills a stereotype about drama from across the pond.

Gagarin Way—A Red Orchid Theatre

Michael Phillips, Tribune—"The export is Gagarin Way, playwright Gregory Burke's lesson in how not to wage an effective anti-globalist protest movement. Four years ago, this wry and craftsmanly item became the hit of the 2001 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It has since been translated into 19 languages beyond its native burr. It is a comedy, quite, quite black, about a kidnapping gone quite, quite wrong. And it is making a lovely, nasty American debut by way of A Red Orchid Theatre. The production is dominated but not taken hostage by Michael Shannon, fresh off his off-Broadway success in Bug."

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"Just consider the men in Gagarin Way, the bristlingly smart (and needlessly violent) first play by thirtysomething Scottish writer Gregory Burke. It is now receiving a knockout U.S. premiere by A Red Orchid Theatre, under the fearsome, sharply tragicomic direction of Karen Kessler…The play devolves into pulp violence, although the very real and palpable threat of it would have been far more powerful. But Burke is nonetheless a writer of scathing intelligence and insight; Kessler is terrific at getting the testosterone flowing, and her four actors (with solid brogues courtesy of dialect coach Eva Breneman) make you listen intently for a fine, fire-breathing, uninterrupted 100 minutes."

Justin Hayford, Reader—"Burke shows a genius for the black comedy in this volatile situation, and the cast in Red Orchid's well-informed, carefully articulated production keeps the humor and the danger precisely balanced under Karen Kessler's crisp unfussy direction…Burke is an uneven dramatist, however, failing to raise the stakes as high as they should go and often substituting conversation for dialogue that builds dramatically. More problematic is the script's naïve politics."

Tim Sauers, Gay Chicago—"A Red Orchid's world premiere, extremely dark comedy is a reviewer's dream show with its thought-provoking script by playwright Gregory Burke, meticulous direction by Karen Kessler, strong performances by a hardworking and perceptive ensemble and high production values. Burke pens a somewhat sociopolitical debate that first appears to be an existentialist discussion over the philosophies of John Paul Sartre and Jean Genet, and current topics such as global warming and job security. However, after the first few minutes of this taught 90-minute, no-intermission construct, the action quickly unfolds to the crux of Burke's argument, the working class versus the management, socialism versus capitalism."

The Balcony—Tinfish Productions

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"But if this production demonstrates anything, it is that Genet's drama—first performed in 1956—is no longer shocking. And even if its portrayal of society as a never-ending brothel rife with corrupt priests, judges, generals, police chiefs still possesses a kind of youthful spirit of rebellion and outrage, the whole thing is more predictable than shocking…And Genet makes his point well before this seemingly interminable 2-1/2-hour drama draws to a close… Both the cast and directors understand the play, but the production has the feel of a vaguely naughty college workshop. And through much of it I kept thinking of the opening scene in another current show, Gagarin's Way, in which a character pokes wicked fun at how Jean-Paul Sartre became Genet's most zealous publicist."

Closer Than Ever—Porchlight Music Theatre

Chris Jones, Tribune—"[R]emarkably, Chicago's Porchlight Theatre turns this potential pool of bathos into a thoroughly arresting show that manages to tiptoe around the clichés and sock it to an audience right in the gut. How is this achieved? The show is so well sung that the audience can relax. And Nick Bowling's very savvy production raises the stakes almost to the point of existential collapse…The two main aces in the Porchlight cast are the redoubtable Rebecca Finnegan, a brassy singer with a huge mouth, a big set of pipes, and the kind of deliciously cynical attitude that you don't see much in this overly chirpy and perky musical-theater town…And then there's Nicholas Foster, a smiley tenor with one of those pretty faces that's just beginning to suggest its owner compensate for wear and tear."

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"The show is being performed with great zest in its Porchlight Music Theatre revival at the Theatre Building, where the excellent director Nick Bowling (whose work is most often seen at TimeLine Theatre) has joined forces with resident musical director-pianist Eugene Dizon and a cast of five performers, including Rebecca Finnegan, who just starred as Mrs. Lovett in the company's remarkable version of Sweeney Todd. But despite all its polish—and a slew of very clever story songs—I can't say I was entirely charmed by all the musical kvetching."

Lawrence Bommer, Reader—"Rich in regrets, this astute 1989 compilation of never-produced songs by Richard Maltby Jr. and David Shire offers a slew of bittersweet ballads for non-lovers, anti-lovers and mature lovers. Nick Bowling's staging for Porchlight Music Theatre Chicago features five superb performers (a number that allows for the strategic odd person out) who turn the 24 songs into 24 scenes, each with its own climax, cleverly detailing fading friendships, second chances, sexual survival, unrequited everything, and the march of time and those it tramples."

Jennifer Vanasco, Free Press—"The syrupy romance of Valentine's Day is being celebrated everywhere with cupids and red paper hearts. Porchlight's production of Closer Than Ever, exquisitely directed by Nick Bowling, cuts through the sugar surrounding our idealized notions of love to the scarred, tender hearts at love's center… Together, the five actors have a full, big sound. Their harmonies tingle up the spine, making us feel as if, listening to them, we are in the throes of the very ecstasy of love."

The Last Two Minutes of the Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen—The Neo-Futurists

Michael Phillips, Tribune—"Shrewdly, director and deviser Allen knows when to cut the comedy. Eleven scenes in, the great Peer Gynt is played dead seriously, in semidarkness, with the actors wielding flashlights. Allen's final image of Peer, his endlessly patient betrothed and the mysterious button-moulder would be effective in most any context. The same goes for the Doll's House climax, which has the actors facing each other in profile. When Sarah Clark walks offstage and into the lobby and down the hall, the fading footsteps sound wonderfully final. The show is uneven. I wish The Last Two Minutes were a little wilder, more reckless. The musical selections, ranging from Offenbach to Greig, are on the familiar side. But Walker and Greenfield do some lovely stupid smart things here."

Hedy Weiss, Sun-Times—"With such raw material, even the most well-balanced theatergoers might race for the closest bottle of schnapps. But Allen's smart, goofy, half-insane and wholly snow-blinded homage to the playwright is a better tonic…Allen, who has devised, directed, translated and adapted this wickedly witty production is clearly taken with Ibsen's long artistic struggle. And in this affectionate send-up, he not only pokes fun at the writer but empathizes with Ibsen's almost palpably painful search for the proper form of expression for his bold passions and groundbreaking ideas. Sure, Ibsen could often be almost laughably clumsy, but for Allen, the quest was all."

Jack Helbig, Daily Herald—"Which brings us to another of Allen's gifts: identifying and attracting talented people around him. This seven-member ensemble is packed with actors with great range and depth. Some of the cast members already have distinguished themselves in other productions, either with the Neo-Futurists or not. Others are not yet familiar faces, even in Chicago's off-off-Loop theater scene…Thanks to Allen's adroit adaptation and canny casting, and to his cast's wit and range, the show is as funny, entertaining and thought-provoking as anything the Neo-Futurists have produced."

Kerry Reid, Reader—"Rather than featuring the final 120 seconds of each Ibsen play, this new show—conceived and directed by Greg Allen for the Neo-Futurists—sometimes consists of summaries of the great dramatist's work and focuses more on final scenes than by-the-clock excerpts. Running the 26 pieces in chronological order, Allen provides irrefutable proof that any genius can improve as long as he sticks with writing for 55 years. Ibsen's turgid historical epics give way first to the seminal verse drama Peer Gynt and then, even more astonishingly, to the revolutionary A Doll's House, wisely played straight here. But the real crowd-pleasers are the high-concept, low-comedy moments. The strong six-member cast keeps the energy high, though the evening winds on a tad too long."

Nina Metz, New City—"A similar prankish quality runs through The Last Two Minutes of the Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen, Greg Allen's madcap deconstruction of the final moments of the playwright's 26 works, all of which invariably end with a bang—sometimes literally. The production starts off a little shaky but finds footing soon enough, a funny little exercise that goes full-tilt silly on Ibsen's most obscure plays…The cast, which also includes Joe Dempsey, Michael Kingston and the perpetually droll Steve Walker, is entirely in synch with Allen's vision. The period-suggestive costumes in black and then white (by Emily Albright) are a nice touch, as well."

Quote of the Fortnight:

"No classics. No revivals of best-loved productions. No playing it safe."—Hedy Weiss discussing Steppenwolf's upcoming season in the Sun-Times.