Ballyturk NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (35)
See it if you enjoy the expressionist, dystopian fables of Enda Walsh, sometimes disarming, often challenging, but always riveting, artful & touching.
Don't see it if you don't think you'll dig an abstract mashup of Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Sartre's No Exit, Emma Donoghue's "Room" & Morecambe and Wise.
See it if You're a fan of Enda Walsh & contemporary Irish theater, enjoy Beckett-like plots, like visceral, physical acting and awe-inspiring endings
Don't see it if You don't like frantic, bizarrely verbal plays, don't like plots that despite insane activity seem to be static, spiritual or focus on death
See it if frenetic is your thing.
Don't see it if you don't like loud '80s music.
See it if you enjoy avant garde theater, where everything is unclear but somehow resonates with you. I don't quite know how to describe this show.
Don't see it if you want a straight forward play with plot and structure, dislike loud music and silliness, nothing is what it seems. Read more
See it if you like Beckett, Pinter; absurd, challenging, thought-provoking plays, Enda Walsh & his poetic writing combined with manic action
Don't see it if you want a traditional easy-to-follow story that you don't analyze long after you leave Read more
See it if you enjoy abstract plays which veer more towards the absurd. A challenging play w/different layers of meaning. Great acting, staging & sound
Don't see it if you're looking for a play that is easy to interpret. This is an unusual piece of work and will certainly not be for everyone.
See it if you're a fan of the Beckett-style
Don't see it if you need concrete plot and concept.
See it if You like your theater difficult and thought-provoking to the point of confusion. Also maniacally funny. Or if you are a child of Beckett.
Don't see it if If you favor plots, coherency, logical progression and realism in acting and drama stay away from St. Anne's. Read more
Critic Reviews (15)
"The dark and enigmatic cosmic farce...'Ballyturk' is so verbally dense that it’s possible to be hypnotized, if not numbed, by some of its lush spoken arias. Even at 90 minutes, it would be better shorter...As a director, Walsh knows how to weave a web of images that defy language. And he infuses them with a kinetic charge...But no matter your immediate response to 'Ballyturk,' it is likely to take up residence in your thoughts after you’ve seen it."
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"Walsh crams big themes into small spaces...After immersing us in this busily static space—Beckett on uppers—Walsh pulls it down with the dramatic arrival of 3 (the magnetic Fouéré)...What this deliberately mysterious play 'means' is left to the audience to imagine. To me, it feels like a theatrical metaphor about the attractions and limits of theater itself; your mileage may vary, but Walsh offers plenty to consider and enjoy along the road."
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“Thrilling...A wild, devastating cry from a playwright who’s both celebrating the small miracle of humankind’s creative impulse and interrogating its ultimate usefulness...A play full of stunning monologues...Walsh turns theatrical examinations of stuckness into exegeses on the art of playmaking. Theater is uniquely good at talking about, eviscerating, celebrating itself — and in 'Ballyturk' you can sense Walsh’s fear that perhaps, in the face of real life’s chaos, that’s all it’s good for.”
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"There are flashes when it’s funny and sad. But mostly it’s a mystery...What’s it all about? That’s never fully explained but intentionally left up in the air. But here’s the thing about a head-scratcher: It can also stimulate your brain. 'Ballyturk' does."
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"As enigmatic, exhilarating, nonsensical, and frustrating as Samuel Beckett's masterpiece...Though Walsh isn't adding any particularly new insight into the theatrical conversation about life, death, and everything in between, once we see the direction in which he's going, we are able to focus more on what's important. The work, too, finds a nice little center, and there is an unexpected poignancy that follows as Murphy and Murfi confront all of the feelings they thought they'd forgotten."
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"Seems to operate on the theory that if a bit of nonsense is amusing, a shipping container's worth is even better. This is not to denigrate the total commitment and skill of the two actors...As 'Ballyturk' begins to acquire a dramatic profile, it also comes to resemble a compendium of absurdist drama tropes…Shuttles between the inexplicable and the derivative, it may be worth seeing if only to catch Fouéré...She very nearly transforms this willfully strange piece into a meaningful experience."
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“A dark comedy...An existential drama about friendship and all the personal sacrifices, large and small, that it can demand from an individual...It is amazing to see Murfi do his frenetic comedy routines on stage, while infusing a genuine humanity...Equally mesmerizing is Murphy, whose physical agility and sensitive acting as Character One terrifically complements Murfi's...Fouere delivers a commanding performance...‘Ballyturk’ at St. Ann's might just convert you into a Walsh fan.”
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"While there is an often frustrating incoherence, this does not diminish the emotional punch thrown by the performance’s climax...Murfi is fantastic...As goofy in 'Ballyturk' as he is devastating...‘Ballyturk’ elicits more questions than it answers in its 95 minutes running time...Be prepared to be thrown off your axis. It is a noteworthy experience, but you’ll land a bit disoriented when the house lights go up.”
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