THE PIED PIPER
by ROBERT BROWNING
adapted by THE FORKS & HOPE
ENSEMBLE
directed by JOSH SOBEL
Forks & Hope / Strawdog Theatre
Spring 2015
The Forks & Hope Ensemble, creators of our hit The Hunting of the Snark and Best Beloved: The Just So Stories led by Strawdog Ensemble Member Josh Sobel, bring their innovative, physical, DIY aesthetic to the haunting tunes of Browning's Pied Piper of Hamelin.
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“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... I doubt there have been many more imaginative retellings than what is now playing at the Strawdog Theatre… The Pied Piper offers heaps of entertainingly creative energy. It also demonstrates a confident reverence to Robert Browning’s source material, enough so that its dark undertones are never trivialized… Director Josh Sobel makes good use of the intimate theater space, with the action often spilling over into unexpected corners of the room… Suzanna Ziko’s Pied Piper projects a certain strength and indignation that makes her vengeance understandable, if not downright chilling… At forty minutes “The Pied Piper” is a revelation of what children’s theater can be when stripped to its essential core… And while there is no happy ending here, its final vision is one of surprising hope and resilience that will charm child and adult alike.”
-Newcity Stage
"HIGHLY RECOMMENDED... Adapted by the Forks & Hope Ensemble, Strawdog Theatre Company’s take on Robert Browning's classic poem feels like a rarity: it's a piece of mature, risk-taking children's theater that offers respectful, vibrant delivery of Browning's language for the adults while stimulating the kids on a more visceral level. The Pied Piper, played by a defiant and charismatic Suzanna Ziko, exacts revenge on the town of Hamelin, stealing local children after its leaders refuse to pay her for ridding the town of its rat infestation. Sights like dancing rats (represented by men's shoes careening around the small space) and sounds (like Delta Rae's swampy "Bottom of the River") surprise and delight in such a small space. Whether the 40-minute show makes you ponder what the plague of rats represents in modern times or not, it's a funny, enjoyable sensory overload.”
-Chicago Reader