Border People NYC Reviews and Tickets
Member Reviews (39)
See it if you'd enjoy an actor portraying many diff chars, all trying to make their way in the difficult world. Touching, enlightening, engrossing.
Don't see it if you want a strg theme. Disconnected stories of immigrn, deportn, & outsider-citizens. Not as compelling as some docu-plays, but worthwhile!
See it if you like to muse on a current important topic in an entertaining way - here one actor brings multiple characters to life in voice & posture.
Don't see it if you are looking for a dramatic play with great staging-here it is 1 actor in regular dress on a nearly bare stage with only some projections
See it if Made me feel the common humanity of complex identity. Labels, borders & prejudices hurt. Border people are not borderline people.
Don't see it if You won't enjoy a solo show that is part acting, part social documentary. Humor helps soften the pain.
See it if Hoyle is an absolute master at his craft often capturing the essence of a person w/a slight gesture Border as a psychological zone well used
Don't see it if Yet, there's no there there With minimal plot/theme to connect these people, a detachment sets in leaving a void or a 'dramatic' border
See it if you like 1-person shows, actor imitating real people he has interviewed, concerned about immigration and refuge, versatile actor
Don't see it if don't like 1-person shows, not interested in immigration or superficial approach to issue, want more "meat" & underlying message
See it if From the streets, multi-character monologues touch borders seen and unseen to illuminate struggles of those affected directly by headlines.
Don't see it if Top of mind:However the innocent goodwill level, ethnic portrayal by one outside of that group, risks drifting into unintentional caricature
See it if Well performed one person show based on actual conversations with asylum seekers, immigrants & people whose voices are rarely heard.
Don't see it if don't care for one person show; minimal staging; have reservations about white male playing characters of various races & ethnicities. Read more
See it if you want to see how people of various races, ethnic groups and sexual preferences deal with institutional intolerance.
Don't see it if your hypersensitive to individuals of various groups being portrayed by a white man, no matter how empathetically. Read more
Critic Reviews (8)
"Dan Hoyle’s ‘Border People’ Blurs Lines: This work of documentary theater feels like a master class. But what is it meant to teach"
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3/5 Stars. "In the manner of Anna Deavere Smith, Hoyle inhabits his characters with a careful humanity, using gestures and vocal tics to differentiate them while resisting slips into caricature. Under the direction of Nicole A. Watson, he's convincing in every guise."
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"Dan Hoyle's 'Border People' Is a Compelling Look at Forgotten People
Hoyle presents a new solo show made up of stories that don't often get told."
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"Reproducing a hard-to-forget parade of personalities, Hoyle paints a discomfiting picture of an American melting pot gone dismayingly cold. It's a gorgeous chorus of individual voices for those who are willing to hear."
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"The play is engaging from moment to moment, and this may be a case of the parts being greater than the whole. There is, of course, no central plot or protagonist. The play makes many varied suggestions about what it means to be a border person."
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"The issues among the people he impersonates range from the immediate to the amorphous and lack the organic continuity for a sharper commentary… As artfully recreated, the stories have momentary interest but are little more than passing sketches, lacking in dramatic impact."
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Score: 93%. "Must see theatre for the most important policy issues of our day - IMMIGRATION. You will leave the theatre with more questions. Stunning truths."
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"If Hoyle has a political purpose in 'Border People,' it's less about piecing together a ground-level look at a specific urgent issue, as it is to undermine popular assumptions based on a range of identities. That big black guy living in the Bronx is actually a chess master."
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