The Hanging Man

NOVEMBER 7, 2003

The Hanging Man, put on by Improbable Theatre, was an interesting take on our obsession with death. The story is based on the suicide of Edward Braff, an architect who crumbles under the pressures of building a cathedral. Unfortunately for him, Death refuses to allow him into the afterlife. This leads to a play focused on a man hanging from a noose (almost) the entire time.

Instead of taking a serious, brooding look at death, the company uses humor to defuse the intense topic. At times it made things more uncomfortable, but to a positive effect. Each of the actors were equally capable and made the performance wholly enjoyable. Since no actor was tied down to a specific character, the different perspectives on death and the responses to Edward Braff's opinions were much more diverse and interesting.

The most impressive aspect of the play was the set design. The set consisted of the interior of a half-finished church, but it made us of pulleys, trap doors and rising platforms to really extend the space. I thought it was fantastic.

It should be clear by now that I was very impressed by this play. It also made me realize for the hundredth time that I much prefer Brittish theater and comedy. If you happen to read this in the next two days and live in New York City then I highly recommend you make your way to BAM and check this out.

Posted in Live at 12:04 am.