runboyrun & IN OLD AGE NYC Reviews and Tickets

68%

(49 Reviews)

Positive

57%

Mixed

33%

Negative

10%

Members say

Great acting, Confusing, Slow, Disappointing, Ambitious

About the Show

NYTW Usual Suspect Mfoniso Udofia returns with another pairing from her powerful nine-part saga, "The Ufot Cycle," which follows a Nigerian family who immigrated to the US.

From the show:

Set in the family’s present-day Worcester home and 1968 Nigeria, "runboyrun" and "In Old Age" pose questions about how to move forward when the past inhabits your very foundation. In "runboyrun," Disciple and Abasiama Ufot have been living the same day over and over again for decades until the dam breaks and time rushes forward while also reeling backwards. They must uncover years of memories and cross great distances to find each other and unearth the roots of their marriage. "IN Old Age" follows Abasiama far into the future as she learns the true nature of love just as life takes a new turn.

Loretta Greco and Awoye Timpo direct these two plays presented together as one evening of theatre.

Member Reviews (49)

Slow, Great acting, Disappointing, Confusing, Ambitious

See it if Udofia's continues her 9-part Nigerian cycle w/ Parts 3 & 8 Powerful acting esp Chevannes as the series' matriarch Both emotionally draining

Don't see it if Although both one-acts are spiritually connected by deep sense of loss & recurring pain; there is a feeling of disengagement & confusion

Mfoniso udofia is writing an ambitious 9-play cycle about the nigerian-american experience; here 2 plays are presented, 1st about trauma of memory, 2nd about erasing painful memory; not her best

See it if 1st play: uses acute theme of exploded universe in need of healing; 2nd play: affecting perf by PJ Channes as wife extirpating husb's ghost

Don't see it if 1-idea plays; 1st play CLUMSY in juxtaposing events of traumatic 1968 Biafran war & crippling 2012 memories; 2nd play jokey & WAY TOO LONG

Critic Reviews (12)

"For These African Immigrants, Life Is a Haunted House: In ‘runboyrun’ and ‘In Old Age,’ the latest installments of Mfoniso Udofia’s nine-play cycle, America is no place to hide from the past."
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3.5 Stars "Both plays dive deeply into the internal torments of their characters, whose painful journeys toward redemption are compelling if sometimes ponderous."
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"Unmagical Realism in 'Runboyrun,' 'In Old Age,' and 'Sunday.'"
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"A Nigerian-American Family Tells Its Story in 'Runboyrun and In Old Age': New York Theatre Workshop mounts two new installments of Mfoniso Udofia's 'Ufot Cycle.'"
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"The current presentation...is cause for alarm: The quality of the writing is showing worrying signs of deterioration, even as the parts on display fail to suggest a coherent overall picture."
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"'Plays shouldn't be hard to sit through, they should inspire us or thrill us or challenge us to think, but they shouldn't tax our physical endurance. The acting and production values of both runboyrun and In Old Age are excellent; there's just too much of both of them."
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3/5 Stars "'Ghosts Haunt a Nigerian-American Family Saga': New York Theatre Workshop stages two installments of Mfoniso Udofia's nine-play cycle"
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"Unfortunately, 'runboyrun' and 'In Old Age,' the two now on display at New York Theatre Workshop, do not stand alone apart from the earlier plays and would be better served by being paired with other parts of the cycle. Possibly they need to be seen in repertory with their companion plays."
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"The latest addition to Mfoniso Udofia’s unquestionably compelling cycle of plays..."
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"Two plays for the price of one should be a good deal if both are worth seeing. New York Theatre Workshop presents two plays from Mfonsio Udofia's 'Ufot Cycle' in one evening. 'runboyrun,' is presented first. It is moving, thought provoking and entertaining. 'In Old Age,' the second piece, is weak in..."
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"Both plays raise similar enduring questions...Abasiama's, Disciple's, and Azell Abernathy's stories of transitioning from 'fighting' to 'survival' are humankind's stories. Their struggles to achieve vulnerability and transparency and healing are our struggles to achieve the same paths to selfhood."
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"'runboyrun' intertwines realism with poetic heightening to recount the psychological aftermath of Nigeria's civil war of the late 1960s. 'In Old Age,' which I thought the much more appealing of the plays, is essentially realistic albeit embraced by a supernatural presence."
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