“Dodin’s spare and subdued adaptation of ‘Love and Intrigue’...The intermissionless production takes its time, building to a chilling climax over 135 sometimes soporific minutes...A production that demands patience and doesn’t reward it richly enough...Dodin has tossed out Lady Milford’s growing moral horror at the source of the duke’s wealth...It’s a vital dimension, without which the play feels diminished...Design is ultimately the most striking thing about this production.”
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“It's such a letdown that Dodin's droopy Russian-language adaptation...is neither lovely nor intriguing...Unfortunately, the tightness Dodin achieves early in the play quickly goes limp. We should feel the tension of belts on gears, the oppressive grind of a machine that tolerates no slack. But the only thing oppressive...is the lethargy of a production that doesn't really get exciting until the last 10 minutes...This is despite some revelatory performances.”
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“It's hard to imagine a more cunningly erotic start...Eye-pleasing spectacle...Dodin's direction dispenses with subtlety...The intricate political machinations of Schiller's plot are intact, but this production's sensuality throbs louder than the creaking of the play's dramatic gears...This is a production in which passion of one kind or another is always in evidence...The members of the Maly troupe operate at an emotional pitch that may vary to some extent but is always fevered.”
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“An 18th century German masterpiece that couldn’t be more timely to revive...Dark tale of love and power...It all ends badly. But it’s spectacular to watch, thanks to Dodin’s distinctive directorial hand...Dodin understands the farcical elements embedded in tragedy. By infusing Schiller’s tragic tale with moments of ironic humor and stylized movement, Dodin underscores the dark theme of the abuse of power and how it reduces people to puppets and pawns."
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“Visually arresting...The simple, elegant, and structured staging by Dodin can’t be ignored...Most excellent group of actors. The words fly hard and strong at each other...Even without the subtitles, the raw power of love, status, and sex would be hard to miss...The German drama never quite rises to the rapturous lyrical beauty of a Shakespearian romantic tragedy, but it does rest quite robustly in the solid Russian landscape and expanse of the stage."
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