Disco Pigs
Closed 1h 15m
Disco Pigs
68%

Disco Pigs NYC Reviews and Tickets

68%
(138 Ratings)
Positive
62%
Mixed
21%
Negative
17%
Members say
Great acting, Confusing, Intense, Quirky, Edgy

About the Show

After an acclaimed run at London's Trafalgar Studios, the 20th anniversary production of Enda Walsh's breakthrough drama about two best friends whose lives take a dark turn, comes to New York with its original cast.

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Show-Score Member Reviews (138)

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225 Reviews | 40 Followers
85%
Absorbing, Edgy, Quirky, Refreshing, Thought-Provoking

See it if You want to see a very unique take on a coming of age Story. Brilliant staging and incredible acting.

Don't see it if You are easily confused by languages and accents. Cannot sit through shows with no intermission or a fast paced story. Read more

49 Reviews | 28 Followers
82%
Ambitious, Confusing, Dizzying, Edgy, Great Acting

See it if You like Enda Walsh... you love intriguing language... you enjoy Irish works... you want to see two really brilliant performances.

Don't see it if You are confused by heavy accents... you don't like exploration of language... you prefer heavy staging or more traditional Broadway shows.

761 Reviews | 167 Followers
81%
Absorbing, Clever, Great Acting, Intense, Touching

See it if you want to see Enda Walsh's 1st play-a gripping look at friendship and chaos in lives of Irish teens in a challenging production

Don't see it if you have trouble with Irish urban slang & vulgarities, simulated depictions of sex, loud disco music & teens behaving very badly

41 Reviews | 6 Followers
88%
Absorbing, Clever, Delightful, Great Acting, Riveting

See it if You love committed, specific performances, excellent direction and a poetic script.

Don't see it if You have no patience for heightened language.

82 Reviews | 29 Followers
79%
Ambitious, Confusing, Funny, Great Acting, Thought-Provoking

See it if You are interested in all theater. Great acting and intimate theater. Also see if you are interested in theater that makes you think.

Don't see it if You are looking for a linear plot or you have difficulty hearing. Thick accents and sometimes words were slurred. Read more

155 Reviews | 23 Followers
56%
Disappointing, Dizzying, Edgy, Excruciating, Intense

See it if you like very edgy.

Don't see it if you like more traditional plays.

203 Reviews | 49 Followers
82%
Edgy, Entertaining, Frenetic, Intense

See it if you enjoy experimental theatre in the vein of New World Stage's A Clockwork Orange. Heavy Irish Accents!

Don't see it if you need straightforward theatre and do not like anything edgy and experimental. Or if you have difficulty with accents. Read more

94 Reviews | 65 Followers
75%
Confusing, Edgy, Entertaining, Great Acting, Quirky

See it if you want to see experimental play following two teens conversing with their own language and going through struggles of life.

Don't see it if you can get easily confused by heavy accents. Read more

Critic Reviews (35)

The New York Times
January 10th, 2018

"This portrait of two best friends on the crumbling cusp of adulthood is driven by a concentrated fuel of adrenaline and hormones, mixed with lethal quantities of alcohol. That, and a word-drunk poetry that zigzags between extreme, giddy feelings of power and powerlessness...A cast of two with the teeming energy of an angry mob...It’s the hyper-physical performances that define not only a completely detailed environment as Pig and Runt see it, but also the reality beyond it.”
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Time Out New York
January 12th, 2018

“At many points, it is nearly unintelligible...Their thick Irish accents would be barrier enough to many American ears, but they also use a daunting personal language...There is much to admire about John Haidar’s revival, but despite the actors’ energetic performances, the experience of absorbing the play can be exhausting...Some audience members are bound to tune out early in confusion, and that reaction is understandable.”
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New York Theatre Guide
January 10th, 2018

"Despite the nearly incomprehensible language I was struggling with as I watched the play, I was able to grasp the gist (alright, and some of the nuance) of the work. I credit the stunning, committed, and physical performances by both Lynch and Campbell...The roller coaster was skillfully piloted by Director John Haidar... Still, despite the redeeming qualities...I’m afraid that presenting a play to an audience that is not going to grasp most of what they’re hearing, is just a bad call."
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New York Daily News
January 9th, 2018

“Campbell and Lynch make vivid impressions as the near-feral Pig and Runt...Walsh is at home with stories filled with shadows and tortured souls...Haidar’s staging moves at a fitting fast and furious clip. So much so your ears may ache as they try to adjust to the accents, unfamiliar references and Pig-and-Runt speak. That gets marginally easier over 75 minutes...The lives of Pig and Runt don’t.”
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Theatermania
January 10th, 2018

“Haidar's revival is an admirable one. Moving at a hundred miles per hour from lights up, it features two actors almost supernaturally in sync...Their performances are thrilling...This work has lost its edginess as it has gotten older, and though Haidar, Campbell, and Lynch go for the jugular, the outcome doesn't feel as consequential as it did two decades ago...But an example of world dramatic literature that rarely gets produced in this country, it's important, worthwhile viewing.”
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BroadwayWorld
January 16th, 2018

"Darren and Sinéad are so intimately connected with one another that they communicate through their own mutually created dialect and shorthand slang...Their devotion to one another, to the point of excluding others, appears cute at first, but then reveals its unsettling details...But even with its brisk, energetic staging, there isn't quite enough substance to fill the play's 75 minutes. There's flashiness and style, for sure, but 'Disco Pigs' requires a bit more meat."
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Lighting & Sound America
January 16th, 2018

“You simply have to ride the wave of words, hoping that they will coalesce into something comprehensible...I can't think of another play that so sternly insists on one's close attention while consistently frustrating it — and which, given the rather ordinary melodrama at its heart, offers so little in return...The two-person cast performs it with exemplary commitment and fluidity...I imagine that those who are familiar with ‘Disco Pigs’ will find many rewards here. They are welcome to them.”
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Talkin' Broadway
January 9th, 2018

“Furiously paced and filled with unintelligible gibberish...’Disco Pigs’ is a challenge for contemporary American audiences...It's a period piece, but what may have seemed cutting edge and radical in 1996 runs the risk of feeling dated and pretentious in 2018...Both Campbell and Lynch have commanding presences on stage and throw themselves into their roles with passion, energy and commitment...Without question, Campbell and Lynch are the reason to see this revival."
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