Philosophy in the Boudoir

Brave, so brave and committed. As a product of what was called The Revolutionary Theatre of the 60s/70s, I was ready for anything when I heard about this show. I had performed in "Marat/Sade" myself and was a nude hallucination for "Tom Paine". So even given the disclaimers for this show, I swore I would not walk out (and I didn't). I believe that much was lost in translation. A Brazilian company, doing French accents in English, so much to master. Again, so brave but it is not for the weak of heart or stomach and I now have images in my brain that I could do without. Definitely the fringiest of the fringe.... full review

Very well done! Epic Theater at it's best. ... full review

Certainly makes you think, and a fairly good theatricalization of the text. Challenging material, no question about it, but only a few of the cast members were really able to breath life into their characters, so things fell flat at times. ... full review

While I was watching this I just wished I was watching "Dangerous Liaisons". Or even "The Libertine". In these works we were treated to a world that was at once erotic, exciting, thoughtful, and disturbing. In PHILOSOPHY, we are treated to... I'm not sure what. I don't know who these people are. Things happen, certainly. Mostly to them. We don't so much as witness the emotional/intellectual transformation of the young virgin so much as we watch her immediately begin to fondle and hit people. Speaking of which, to take a page from the Ebert school of safety, if you're going to have your actors expose and degrade themselves in this way there better be a damn good point. Don't get me wrong, I'm no prude. (And the power of this show is tha... full review

Yes there's a ton of nudity and sex and every deviation of sex you can think of. But that wasn't my problem. After the initial shock and novelty wore off within the first 5 minutes, I honestly got a little bored. My problem was there wasn't a real story. There wasn't a character to root for. No one was really communicating with each other, not even sexually-- it was all for show. It was like bad musical theater but instead of singing it's fucking and masturbating. And if that's all it's going to be, well then hell, might as well rent a good porno. Oh, and, rape is not entertaining. Or funny. You better have a really good reason to include it in your story. Boudoir did not.... full review

I feel like this play wanted to shock me, wanted to blast it's message (which I failed to grasp) through blatant exhibitionism. For me, it achieved neither and instead felt like a loud, overly self-aware drum beat in my ear.... full review

this show is fucking nuts. and i absolutely loved the story. i wish the presentation was less presentational and more honset, because this no rules masturbate in your face journey where the hero is the libertine and morals are all that's wrong could be even more intense and more wild. but in the end, it was nuts. ... full review

I was preparing for on stage hardcore porn, and if you do that, this show actually seems quite tame. This is a beautifully light production with very committed actors (not to mention flexible) who's only short-coming is a text that's a bit wordy. But it's Marquis de Sade, you can't mess with that. Yes, this play is edgy. Yes, this play has nudity. But yes, this play is totally worth it. Theatre is supposed to transport you - this is a show that most certainly does that. ... full review

I wasn't shocked by the 'brave' nudity that many reviewers have lauded. Truth be told, I was kind of bored. Because beyond the physicality of the piece - which was compelling to me only when no words were uttered - I was left cold. The core problem is de Sade's text, or perhaps this translation of it. I am led to understand that his work intended to illustrate the politics of class and sexuality. Unfortunately, I did not see much of that in this production, which seemed to play up the titillation and downplay the themes. ... full review

OK. This show is wildly uneven. Some of the acting is below average, a couple are fine. One (Raissa Eckmann Peniche) is wonderful. The actors are Brazilian and doing the play in English is obviously difficult for some, so I'm giving them some slack on performance. The show feels like it's trying to shock rather than trying to tell the story honestly. Some of the actors escape from the forced-shock-value nature of the show and deliver convincing performances, but that doesn't make up for the clunky writing. The nudity feels forced at times, but then again, in the setting of the show, I'd expect everybody to be naked all of the time. It just felt unnatural, and it's not because anybody was uncomfortable, no they're all very comfortable in thei... full review