Returning to Reims
Closed 2h 0m
Returning to Reims
79

Returning to Reims NYC Reviews and Tickets

79%
(23 Ratings)
Positive
78%
Mixed
22%
Negative
0%
Members say
Relevant, Ambitious, Intelligent, Absorbing, Slow

About the Show

St. Ann's Warehouse presents Schaubühne Berlin's new production based on the memoir by Didier Eribon, which asks: as populism marches around the globe, does political activism still have a role to play?

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Show-Score Member Reviews (23)

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95 Reviews | 30 Followers
93
Ambitious, Intense, Slow, Thought-provoking, Relevant

See it if you are interested in Europe's history, politics, social change movements, human rights activities.

Don't see it if you don't like political shows. also if you can't sit through 3 hours show

73 Reviews | 9 Followers
93
Absorbing, Excruciating, Epic, Intelligent, Masterful

See it if you want your entertainment thoughtful, quiet and intelligent

Don't see it if you'd rather laugh through a musical

97 Reviews | 16 Followers
90
Great acting, Masterful, Profound, Relevant, Great directing

See it if you like to think when you go to the theatre

Don't see it if you think that political activism is useless

208 Reviews | 39 Followers
90
Thought-provoking, Great acting, Intelligent, Profound, Relevant

See it if you like theater with a strong political message. It takes time to grow on you but it is worth sitting through a, at times, slow production

Don't see it if Politics and theater are not a good mix for you. This is a very intense production and if you look for “ light “ entertainment keep looking

102 Reviews | 11 Followers
85
Absorbing, Clever, Great acting, Great writing

See it if you are interested in political drama and historical events, although the play shifts from a personal coming of age to universal politics.

Don't see it if you are not interested in political discourse, rap music or a non-linear personal history narrative.

182 Reviews | 31 Followers
84
Great acting, Great staging, Clever, Ambitious

See it if you enjoy German theater and its quirky storytelling method

Don't see it if you like to see actions and drama on stage -this show has none

761 Reviews | 165 Followers
83
Ambitious, Absorbing, Clever, Thought-provoking, Refreshing

See it if you like combinations of film, narration & drama, curious how the right gains influence & how fathers impact children, fan of Nina Hoff

Don't see it if you don't like shows that mix film in with plot, that don't signal where they are going, have a strong political POV, appear to lack plot Read more

499 Reviews | 77 Followers
77
Ambitious, Great acting, Refreshing, Relevant, Mesmerizing

See it if you enjoy alternative, new types of theater that focus on ideas rather than plot or character development.

Don't see it if you prefer action and a real story. This show is very wordy

Critic Reviews (23)

The New York Times
February 11th, 2018

"Definitely worth seeing, but you may not think so until after it’s over...In the viewing, this production is rarely exciting in the terms of conventional drama. Nor is its portrayal of the creation of a film entirely credible. But it’s smart in expressly theatrical ways, and its effectiveness is subliminal. Even the seeming somnolence of Hoss’s voice-over narration has its purpose. Ideas have been planted in your head without your even being aware of it, as if while you were sleeping. "
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Time Out New York
February 11th, 2018

"Most of 'Returning to Reims' doesn’t seem much like theater...You can sometimes sense the audience growing restless at the absence of front-and-center drama. But director Thomas Ostermeier gradually adjusts the style toward an explicit awareness of theatricality...Even as 'Returning to Reims' asks of its audience a certain empathy and patience, it also suggests the importance of those qualities in addressing those whom the left has left behind."
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New York Magazine / Vulture
February 11th, 2018

"An intellectually ambitious, uneven but fascinating, often anti-theatrical piece of theater...For at least the first half Ostermeier actually uses the lack of conventional drama to craft an enthralling, prodigiously smart piece of live performance that’s part theater, part audiobook, part film...If only these sections of personal conflict were as compelling as the stretches in which we’re left alone with Katy and Eribon. The writing in these conversational interludes often sounds clunky."
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The Hollywood Reporter
February 11th, 2018

"'While it often proves thought-provoking and incisive in its socio-political arguments, the piece is too scattershot to make a real impact...Ostermeier lets his theatrical conceits get the better of him, squandering the play's thematic ideas...There's plenty to admire, not the least of which is Hoss' quietly commanding, sensitive turn...The film-within-the-play is substantial enough to stand on its own. It's too bad, then, that 'Returning' ultimately adds up to less than the sum of its parts."
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Theatermania
February 11th, 2018

"Eribon's trenchant memoir has become an exhilarating stage play...The most politically incisive play yet to come out of the Trump era...Ostermeier mostly allows Eribon's words to tell the story...We watch Paul's documentary on a large screen above the stage...It powerfully illustrates an already evocative text...'Returning to Reims' will keep you thinking long after you leave the theater...It will be frightening, enraging, and absolutely necessary."
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Lighting & Sound America
February 12th, 2018

"The most stimulating play to be seen in New York in months...'Returning to Reims' exerts a grip all its own, in no small part because it speaks volumes about how we ended up in the current rancid political climate...This is extraordinarily rich material, a banquet of ideas and emotions, and if Hoss initially seems an unusual choice to be voicing the words of a middle-aged gay Frenchman, her astonishingly deft handling of the text effectively tables all such questions."
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Front Mezz Junkies
February 11th, 2018

"Ostermeier’s staging of this memoir pulls us in deep...We watch with utter amazement as we see the process of image, idea, and the spoken word melting into one another before our eyes...It’s almost shocking how this creative team has found a way to present a reading of such intense and high minded philosophy within a theatrical framework and find a way to keep us personally invested…‘Returning to Reims’ falters a bit in the end, losing its connection to Eribon’s writing."
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Theatre's Leiter Side
February 21st, 2018

“The…low-key focus on Didier's identity issues…is not as gripping as one could wish...We're hearing his thoughts through the medium of a woman's voice…, creating a Brechtian effect that distances us emotionally. Moreover, the emphasis on the class-related preoccupations of European politics…seem more appropriate for a TED lecture than a dramatic presentation... Hoss, an exceptional artist, reads the narrative in a naturalistic, barely accented, deceptively objective tone; its mood is perfect.”
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