Spindle Shuttle Needle NYC Reviews and Tickets

74%

(5 Ratings)

Positive

80%

Mixed

20%

Negative

Members say

Funny, Great acting, Fables and history, Quirky, Great parts for women

About the Show

Part of Summerworks 2022, Clubbed Thumb's twice-delayed 25th mini-season of new plays.

A dark comedy by Gab Reisman that takes place in a cottage surrounded by endless siege, at the dawn of Modern Capitalism, as a motley group of women tell tales and do what they need to do to survive until the Market reopens. The play explores what it means to be trapped indoors.

Tamilla Woodard, chair of the acting program at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University, directs.

With Summerworks, Clubbed Thumb produces three new plays, each of which runs for two weeks. Some playwrights had their professional premieres at Summerworks include Will Arbery, Jaclyn Backhaus, Clare Barron and Gina Gionfriddo.

Show-Score Member Reviews (5)

Funny, Clever, Delightful

See it if You enjoy theatre festivals, like slightly absurd new works, appreciate new works by woman performed by woman.

Don't see it if You don't like festival works, new works, or off-off broadway shows, don't like absurd shows. Read more

Quirky, Funny, Great acting, Great staging

See it if you like a talented cast working well together on a great set that changes before your eyes for non-stop action that is funny and quirky.

Don't see it if you do not like a little absurdity in your watching a new play that is under 90 minutes.

Fables and history, 90 minutes no intermish, Drags a bit in the end, Humorous & poignant, Great parts for women

See it if Like to see new works -- especially with strong roles for women. Appreciate fables, history, war allusions.

Don't see it if Need action beyond relationships and dialogue. Are not a fan of talea and storytelling.

Antiwar, Disappointing, Parody, Interesting characters, Hilarious

See it if you're fond of Mother Courage. This play features interesting characters making hilarious attempt to survive the absurdities of war.

Don't see it if you are expecting deep consideration of the situation. It is a comedy with no plot progression in spite of hinting at possible plot twists.

Epic, Great acting, Ambitious, Banal

See it if If you like new works with for the most part we'll written.

Don't see it if Gets slow at times but decent acting overall decent show.

Critic Reviews (2)

"Reisman has a couple of big themes in mind — the transition from an artisan economy to a capitalist one, the role of women in war. But the Marxist analytics are pretty limited. And the depredations of war (embodied in the arrival of a young soldier, played by Seth Clayton) are never staged with enough realism to fully register."
Read more

"'Spindle Shuttle Needle' uses modern language, modern character sensibilities, and a modern, nonliteral approach to casting to great effect; Reisman and Woodard operate deftly in the gap between one period and the other. ... And the control of tone is very tight—it would be easy for the sharp irony to turn into cheap jokes, but it never does."
Read more

Trailer

Creative team