Evening at the Talk House
Closed 1h 40m
Evening at the Talk House
58

Evening at the Talk House NYC Reviews and Tickets

58%
(162 Ratings)
Positive
32%
Mixed
40%
Negative
28%
Members say
Confusing, Slow, Disappointing, Indulgent, Thought-provoking

About the Show

The New Group presents two-time Tony winner Matthew Broderick in Wallace Shawn's drama about a group of friends gathering to celebrate a past theatrical endeavor in a dystopian future. 

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Show-Score Member Reviews (162)

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150 Reviews | 22 Followers
86
Clever, Great writing, Great acting, Intelligent, Profound

See it if you enjoy Wallace Shawn and a show that is all talk. Profound and uncomfortably relevant. Great writing and acting!

Don't see it if you don't enjoy shows that are slow and thought provoking.

168 Reviews | 24 Followers
85
Absorbing, Edgy, Entertaining, Intelligent, Quirky

See it if You enjoy ensemble talk drama, interesting talk about theater and odd punishment for vague crimes.

Don't see it if you don't like very talky plays and sometimes confusing lines of thought.

52 Reviews | 15 Followers
83
Thought-provoking, Interesting.

See it if You want to see a talented cast in a well-staged poignant play.

Don't see it if You don't like weird scripts with a morbid message. Read more

171 Reviews | 162 Followers
80
Intelligent, Profound, Thought-provoking, Ambitious, Resonant

See it if I found this play fascinating and was totally absorbed by it. It worked on many levels : I especially loved the sinister doings just below

Don't see it if the surface interactions. The New Group gave it a fine production w/ Matthew Broderick plowing charmingly through gobs of text. 8 actors A++

WH
448 Reviews | 88 Followers
80
Ambitious, Clever, Great acting, Quirky, Thought-provoking

See it if You are a Wallace Shawn or Matthew Broderick fan. You enjoy interactive theatre (get there early to hang on the set with the cast).

Don't see it if You would rather avoid challenging ideas--including some that are prescient. Read more

226 Reviews | 43 Followers
80
Absorbing, Great writing, Intense, Profound, Relevant

See it if you like social criticism that isn't above connecting with a good sucker-punch and sense our culture is on the slippery slope to hell.

Don't see it if you're afraid to take an unflinching look at yourself, your friends, your secret bourgeois fantasies... and your nightmares.

69 Reviews | 25 Followers
79
Absorbing, Great writing, Intelligent, Intense, Slow

See it if you like seeing a thought-provoking social commentary in a play

Don't see it if you don't like a lot of long, in-depth speeches by characters

273 Reviews | 36 Followers
77
Absorbing, Great acting

See it if The cast and the set

Don't see it if Depressing

Critic Reviews (46)

The New York Times
February 16th, 2017

"'Talk House,' which features a talent-stocked ensemble led by an excellent Matthew Broderick, covers territory that Mr. Shawn dug into more deeply in his harrowing 'Designated Mourner'...The insiderly conflation of theater-world superficiality and the depths of institutionalized evil can feel forced and gimmicky. And the ensemble hasn’t yet fallen into the natural common groove that might mitigate that impression...Ms. Shear stands out...Mr. Shawn is as good...And Mr. Broderick is first-rate."
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Time Out New York
February 16th, 2017

"Watching 'Talk House,' I had the uncanny sensation that Shawn has turned his theatrical nightmares into our waking reality...Staged with sly humor and creeping perversity by Elliott, 'Talk House' is elliptical, weird stuff. Unless you’re already a fan, you may find it opaque or off-puttingly cryptic. Those of us who’ve loved Shawn for years, however, will simply note that he’s moved into documentaries."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
February 17th, 2017

"A terrific production...Where 'Talk House' achieves its unique power is in the slippery subtlety of its contradictory arguments. Surely Shawn would not waste his time writing a cautionary tale for a world beyond caution, or making it so deceptively funny (until it isn’t) if he did not believe in the power of words to do more than moo...And yet 'Talk House' is uncommonly pessimistic about the theater: It’s late in the day and it’s all gas. Worse, plays may be a part of the problem."
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Deadline
February 17th, 2017

"Framing the best performance by Broderick since 'The Producers,' 'Evening At The Talk House' plows terrain familiar to us onlookers at The World According Shawn...It’s a horrific, unsettling worldview...Even more frightening, it seems to have been outpaced by the real events Shawn is commenting on, turning satire – fake news – into documentary – real news. 'Evening' loses focus and doesn’t seem to know how to end. That simply adds to the horror factor, however."
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New York Daily News
February 16th, 2017

"Too bad the play doesn't give you that much to chew on...While Shawn's play stirs up a bit of dread, especially considering current affairs, it’s played so bluntly that it's not that disquieting...Under the direction of Elliott, performances in this New Group show are mostly fine, but Broderick struggles to sound like just a regular guy talking in the show’s long opening monologue. The physical production also nags...Furnishings, like the talk in this house, could have been more lived-in."
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The Hollywood Reporter
February 16th, 2017

"Unfortunately, 'Evening at the Talk House' lives up to its title by being a monotonously verbose exercise whose provocative themes are too muddled to make much of an impact...Never proves compelling with its vague, futuristic scenario. Shawn's understated dialogue becomes quickly tedious, and the oblique story line doesn’t reach any satisfying conclusion...The talented cast fails to breathe much life into their underwritten roles."
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AM New York
February 16th, 2017

"Elliott’s production is a laid-back, intimate affair with little movement and dim lighting...About halfway through, the dialogue becomes increasingly strange and there is mention of a government sanctioned 'program of murdering'...It’s as if Shawn sensed the play was becoming a bore and responded with a dystopian twist. A handful of moments are interesting...But it’s a challenge to stay engaged with this slow-moving, maudlin and ultimately bewildering piece."
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NY1
February 16th, 2017

"Though overwritten, Shawn’s play is a shrewdly pointed satire about civilization's tectonic shifts both culturally and politically…The performances are all first-rate…The production, directed by Scott Elliot, takes far too long to hook us in. But when it does, we're fascinated. Unfortunately, the ending comes too abruptly, and many in the audience are left shaking their heads. Bottom line, Wallace Shawn is a great thinker. I just wish his playwriting could match his intellect."
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