'No Exit' ponders life in hell starting Friday at the Acrosstown

Wednesday
Jan 3, 2018 at 5:22 PM Jan 3, 2018 at 5:22 PM

The production, which will have a preview performance at 8p.m. Thursday, will continue through Jan. 21 with performances Fridays through Sundays.

By Jessica Rodriguez Correspondent

What would it be like to be locked in a room in hell with two other people? One interpretation will come to life starting Friday, when Jean-Paul Sartre's dark comedy "No Exit" opens at the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre. 

Written by the famed philosopher and playwright in 1944, the existential play opens with three people that come into hell, a term which director Lola Bond, thinks of as non-denominational.

“They come in and expect what we all think of the afterlife, and they come into a parlor-type room and realize that they will serve as the torturers for each other,” Bond said.

The audience soon comes to realize what landed each of them in Hell, she said.

“I hope that the audience gets perspective,” she said. “We go through life and we base our self worth off of other people. We do things and respond to other people based on what other people think. Hell is other people, how other people view us. I hope the audience can take that away.”

Bond, who has been acting for about 26 years and once played the character Inez in a production of "No Exit," is directing for the first time. She decided to direct this particular play because she believes theater is supposed to make you feel, she said.

“I feel happy, sad, moved and have some reflection. It takes place in hell and there are three main characters who are unlikable people, but we can still identify with them,” she said. “That I think speaks volumes. It’s a classic.”

 Emma Grimm, who plays Estelle in the production, said the character is the most challenging role she has ever taken in a play.

“My character is unlikable,” she said “I have to put myself in the shoes of psychopath and be okay with it.”

The production, which will have a preview performance at 8 p.m. Thursday, will continue through Jan. 21 with performances Fridays through Sundays.

Tickets are $15 for the general public with a discount for seniors, students, veterans and active military and can be purchased at http://www.acrosstown.org/buy-tickets/. Tickets for tonight's preview performance are $5, cash only, at the door.

 

 

 

Wednesday
Jan 3, 2018 at 5:22 PM Jan 3, 2018 at 5:22 PM

The production, which will have a preview performance at 8p.m. Thursday, will continue through Jan. 21 with performances Fridays through Sundays.

By Jessica Rodriguez Correspondent

What would it be like to be locked in a room in hell with two other people? One interpretation will come to life starting Friday, when Jean-Paul Sartre's dark comedy "No Exit" opens at the Acrosstown Repertory Theatre. 

Written by the famed philosopher and playwright in 1944, the existential play opens with three people that come into hell, a term which director Lola Bond, thinks of as non-denominational.

“They come in and expect what we all think of the afterlife, and they come into a parlor-type room and realize that they will serve as the torturers for each other,” Bond said.

The audience soon comes to realize what landed each of them in Hell, she said.

“I hope that the audience gets perspective,” she said. “We go through life and we base our self worth off of other people. We do things and respond to other people based on what other people think. Hell is other people, how other people view us. I hope the audience can take that away.”

Bond, who has been acting for about 26 years and once played the character Inez in a production of "No Exit," is directing for the first time. She decided to direct this particular play because she believes theater is supposed to make you feel, she said.

“I feel happy, sad, moved and have some reflection. It takes place in hell and there are three main characters who are unlikable people, but we can still identify with them,” she said. “That I think speaks volumes. It’s a classic.”

 Emma Grimm, who plays Estelle in the production, said the character is the most challenging role she has ever taken in a play.

“My character is unlikable,” she said “I have to put myself in the shoes of psychopath and be okay with it.”

The production, which will have a preview performance at 8 p.m. Thursday, will continue through Jan. 21 with performances Fridays through Sundays.

Tickets are $15 for the general public with a discount for seniors, students, veterans and active military and can be purchased at http://www.acrosstown.org/buy-tickets/. Tickets for tonight's preview performance are $5, cash only, at the door.

 

 

 

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