Arts & Culture
Fiction leads to murder in 'The Pillowman'
Courtesy photo
You have the right to remain blindfolded: Pillowman cast members Tyler Keyes, Rojer Alvarez, and Michael Burger.
Published: June 20, 2012
Beginning with the fact that its protagonist is named Katurian Katurian Katurian, The Pillowman is an exercise in absurdist comedy. However, director Kevin Murray downplays the humor in favor of a stark meditation on universal guilt, opting for Dostoyevsky over Looney Tunes. Despite a wild — and depraved — imagination, Katurian lacks literary talent. Only one of his 400 foolish stories has ever been published, though he counts on immortality through his witless manuscripts. It is preposterous that the state should single him out for inquisition and deliberately ludicrous that McDonagh should choose to model him as a portrait of the artist. This is a disturbing production, not least because it misses the joke — black comedy to fill the Woodlawn's new Black Box. •
The Pillowman
$15-$19
7:30pm Thu, 8:15pm Fri-Sat
Woodlawn Black Box
1920 Fredericksburg
(210) 267-8388
woodlawnblackbox.com
Through July 7
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