Incantata

See it if you like edgy, messy, daring, loud, esoteric experimental theater. Some people laughed often; some wept at end. Read poem before. Heavy!

Don't see it if you can't connect w poetry (sophisticated/pretentious?) Verses repeated. Slow, dull parts. Strg acting. Thought-provoking. Wasn't for me.

See it if If you like and understand the poem. If you like poetry and a comfortable theater.

Don't see it if If you dont like dark plays, yelling ...paint at walls. Can be slow at times.

See it if It's Townsend's majestically lyrical performance that keeps one's attention during this tone poem dealing with a tragic, inconsolable loss

Don't see it if Muldoon's dense, structurally complex poetic drama keeps shifting tone & form leaving one off-center Has a brooding elegiac Irish melancholy

See it if you know (have translated words and understand references) this poem and would enjoy an energetic performance, with good video and sound.

Don't see it if you cannot appreciate the laughter and pain of grief expressed in word and action. Blinding light, dark moments, hearing difficulties.

See it if you love Ireland, Irish poets or great passions. A highly dramatic performance of detailed love poems done in boxy set with lots of potatoes

Don't see it if moment to moment clarity is important to you. There are Irish phrases & places that are unlikely to be familiar to American audiences.

See it if Irish spud-splitting art stencilist videos the spirit of his lost love in elegy:"I saw you again tonight/A monument to the human heart"

Don't see it if Given the static nature of most monologues, this actor employs full use of the mainstage with live videotaping and handling inky properties.

Also Mrs. Vanderbilt/I'm gonna gitcha ,gitcha ,gitcha/It might be 8 or 12 dark rum drinks before I land back on Landseer Street"... Read more Read less

See it if you like angry poetry in an accent that is difficult to understand with lots of paint thrown at wall.

Don't see it if you don't like angry poetry.

Also Reading the poetry in advance might help but I couldn't understand half of what he said. The setting fits the angry poetry. Couldn't wait for show to end.... Read more Read less

See it if A truly committed actor. A poem repeated and repeated. Interesting rewind/reminder to help pull it together.

Don't see it if you find it unnerving to watch the actor create a costar with a chair, wrap, camera and hat. Chaotic, loud, flashing lights.

See it if you want to see a mournful poem come to life. I had read the poem several times before the play which made his enactment more meaningful.

Don't see it if you're not a poetry fan and prefer more subdued (this performance isn't understated) theatrics.

See it if You want to see a sad but beautiful elegy to a lost love. Heartfelt acting by Stanley Townsend.

Don't see it if You need more action and not interested in poetry.

Also It helps to be familiar with the poem by Paul Muldoon before you see the play. I was challenged by the entire one hour performance and particularly moved by the ending.... Read more Read less

See it if You want to see a masterful performance of a poem you probably won't understand fully, particularly if you haven't read it in advance

Don't see it if You like your theater in a more traditional mode

See it if Love poety, art or amazing solo acting. Appreciate investigations of and ruminations on love and loss.

Don't see it if Need a linear story line. Dislike one person shows. Reject contemplation of mourning and loss.

See it if you enjoy poetry; staged readings, solo performances & all things Irish; are familiar with Paul Muldoon's writing.

Don't see it if you dislike poetry, solo performances, eulogies; are unfamiliar w/ & uninterested in Dublin, Irish myths, literature, history .

Also The staging was highly inventive & really good, I concur with the advice to read the poem at least once before seeing this. https://ireland-calling.com/incantata/ The poem is a eulogy to Muldoon's lover. It helps to know she was a print-maker, was born in St. Cloud, Minnesota & that at times Minnesota was plagued by army-worms, which is a species of moths which invade like locusts. She died of cancer at the age of 42 after refusing chemotherapy & trying homeopathic remedies.... Read more Read less

See it if Brilliant performance of Paul Muldoon's elegiac poem about love lost by Stanley Townsend. Fascinating set with video. Time expands/contracts

Don't see it if Intense and confusing, I wish I read the poem before I saw the show. But moving and powerful whether you are following or totally lost.

See it if You’re up for a tour de force performance best seen after reading the poem or knowing Irish references; otherwise like a foreign film.

Don't see it if You're not up for careful active listening; this is not a passive experience, unusual attention must be paid, but the rewards are great.

Also Anger, frustration, regret, longing, let alone denial, depression and never quite acceptance are among the shades of Muldoon's complex eliagic poem, brilliantly performed by Stanley Townsend.

Written in response to his partner's untimely death from breast cancer at 43, it cajoles, accuses, argues and reminisces with the deceased, all the while spellbound and enthralled with grief—thus the Incantata of the title. Its substance is rich and layered with internal rhymes and references best Googled at length for the deepest understanding.

Even without that, though, meaning comes through. Townsend's resonance and theatricality give depth to the words and infuse a video camera-strapped chair with the skeletal presence of his partner—a presence he addresses directly, his face and grief projected onto the walls, and thus into the audience.

Incantata may not be for everyone, but it's a great bit of theatre.... Read more Read less

See it if you'd be interested in an original, bravado performance that is an enacted poem, not a play- cryptic, fascinating & strange

Don't see it if you dislike enigmatic, absurdist theater (i.e. Beckett, Pirandello); are looking for simple entertainment ( this one requires a lot of work)

Also Definitely not for everyone, definitely not a crowd-pleaser. Only one hour but quite difficult to follow. It has interesting staging & a great performance by Stanley Townsend... Read more Read less

See it if If a modern take of a poem appeals to you. The performer is very passionate. Staging is very colorful with modern music interwoven.

Don't see it if You do not like poetry or media pieces

See it if you are up to the challenge of dense, often obscure poetry balanced by an amazing performance and inventive staging. Read it before you go!

Don't see it if you don't like to have to work at enjoying a theatrical performance or if it distresses you to not understand what is being said.

See it if a very moving elegy for a partner, an eloquent hymn to her & their relationship. Staging is surprising & effective, the acting amazing.

Don't see it if this is a dirge, a dramatization of a poem, not a play. There's a touch of humor, but not much. It's intellectually taxing.

See it if Irish poetry as dramatic text intrigues plus a rare op to see wonderful actor Stanley Townsend, working with a talented director & designers

Don't see it if you want something longer than an hour, with a plot you can follow.

See it if You like Paul Muldoon's poetry, are interested in a provocative and unusual visual, highly theatrical take on an epic poem.

Don't see it if You are seeking out a plot-driven, easy to follow, traditional evening at the theater.

Also Stanley Townsend gave a towering performance. I loved the repeated recitation at the end that pulls everything together - clarified the whole experience for me, which was occasionally tough to follow and absorb.... Read more Read less

See it if you're deeply into Paul Muldoon's poetry. Otherwise, you're going to miss a lot in this multimedia oratory which favors bombast over beauty.

Don't see it if your local library carries a copy. You'd be better served reading Muldoon's posthumous love letter to printmaker Mary Farl Powers at home.

Also Memorable Quote: "I can hardly believe that, when we met, my idea of 'R and R'
was to get smashed, almost every night, on sickly-sweet Demarara rum and Coke."... Read more Read less

See it if an intense performance that is an enacted poem, not a play.

Don't see it if You like a linear plot or a traditional play. This is a dark dramatic poetry reading and requires attentive listening.

See it if Solo performance of an Irish poem using props as characters. Excellent use of video unlike WWS.

Don't see it if You like multi characters and a linear plot. Its's poetry and requires attentive listening.

See it if You like one person poetry performances within a story context.

Don't see it if You prefer more upbeat shows like musicals and comedies.

Also The staging of this poem felt unrecognizable to me. The driving emotional force with which Mr. Townsend recited the lines was anger, at times high, but mostly low simmering.

I didn't recognize what I had previously read and understood as an exercise in acceptance, in this staging. Anger and acceptance are two of the stages of grief. Whereas my own personal voice in reading it had understood the author mostly communicating acceptance and resignation at the loved one's loss, this staging seemed focused on active anger, at times still clearly pissed off at his loved one for not doing all possible to want to live, instead of handing herself over to fate and a sure death. Interesting how the same exact lines can be interpreted in different ways.

This is how Mr. Muldoon intended his poem to be staged. This is the one he sanctioned and blessed into being. I did like the thunderous collapse of the set wall which felt like a release to the pressure build-up over the hour-long exposition.... Read more Read less