Disco Pigs
Closed 1h 15m
Disco Pigs
68

Disco Pigs NYC Reviews and Tickets

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

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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Member Reviews (138)

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913 Reviews | 928 Followers
44
Unintelligible, Exhausting, Indulgent, Disappointing

See it if you are a fan of one of the actors. Sets and lighting were excellent. And the performances are solid.

Don't see it if Trying to make out what is being said for 75 min was an exhausting endeavor for little payoff. This was work, not leisure. Read more

888 Reviews | 1017 Followers
30
Dizzying, Confusing, Annoying, Disappointing, Unintelligible

See it if You like off beat, experimental performance pieces. Reminded me of something strange I would have seen in college.

Don't see it if You want a clear/coherent story. Thick accents,gibberish talk & thin story make it unintelligible. Even At 75min its overly long. Exhausting

1085 Reviews | 265 Followers
68
Dizzying, Edgy, Indulgent, Intense, Overrated

See it if you like a paradox of people/animals living there lives in the clubs in Ireland.it has good directing lighting and acting. you need to know

Don't see it if the story before you go in as it helps a lot. accents are thick need to pay attention to it, maybe see the show 2x's to be able to digest it

1015 Reviews | 420 Followers
53
Great acting, Disappointing, Confusing, Edgy, Excruciating

See it if You want to see two extraordinary performances. Your a fan of Edna Walsh, see how she has progressed from this, her 1st play.

Don't see it if You’ve never seen Edna Walsh’s work before. This is, in my opinion, not a very good play except to see how far she’s progressed in her work.

716 Reviews | 219 Followers
85
Violent, Intense, Dizzying, Exquisite, Visceral

See it if Terrific two person acting & dance performance. I was able to relate it to my own love life and was moved by the story of this couple.

Don't see it if You need to understand all the words. You don't enjoy creative performance art that is part theater and part dance, with invented language. Read more

716 Reviews | 157 Followers
81
Absorbing, Clever, Great acting, Touching, Intense

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

715 Reviews | 108 Followers
15
Confusing, Disappointing, Excruciating, Quirky

See it if you can understand confusing dialogue with a very thick accent. I understood about 5% of the dialogue. The 5% included the F word.

Don't see it if have trouble with thick accents. I couldn't understand what was being said so i really can't judge the plot, whatever it was. Read more

688 Reviews | 116 Followers
74
Ambitious, Dizzying, Great acting, Slow, Edgy

See it if Smashing revival of Walsh's debut play about violence prone, erotic sibling relationship Wild mash-up of Clockwork Orange & Finnegans Wake

Don't see it if Dense, inventive language off-putting & alienating but meant to be; sibling angst evocatively handled by leads High energy peaks mid-show

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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