The Antipodes NYC Reviews and Tickets

"Baker is looking at the way stories get told in the 21st century...As commentary, 'The Antipodes' is one of the most fascinating plays of the season. Baker's message is clear and universal for any medium: Without diversity, all of the stories we tell will eventually be so similar it will be hard to differentiate between them. But as a play itself, Baker's style is a little too oblique, and filmed with a little too much mythology that doesn't seem to add up to anything."
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"Baker works her pointillist magic: Giving us only a handful of details, we grasp the network of relationships and power plays unfolding underneath the largely deadpan action...Baker has a highly sympathetic director in Neugebauer, who highlights each telling detail with laser-like intensity...Despite the highly disciplined production, 'The Antipodes' seemingly lacks the rigor of Baker's earlier works...Baker's many strengths are on display, but this time they aren't put to their best use."
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"Things become less normal as the play unfolds, yet Baker keeps them anchored to a universe we recognize; their plights may be unfamiliar, but the demons they're fighting are all too familiar...These artists go all the way with it, and that's a big part of why 'The Antipodes' works so well. Baker's relentless writing leaves you feeling as trapped and as vulnerable as the writers...The entire cast is excellent; each rips through choice moments with masterful skill...A rip-roaring success."
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“Peculiarly undramatic. Every signature Annie Baker quirk is here: the odd, affectless characters (who here reveal themselves to be boring instead of complex and sympathetic), long silences (here vacant rather than pregnant), plot tangents that intrigue (but here veer off into oblivion)...During the course of two hours we watch a fine cast, under the dreary direction of Lila Neugebauer, with too little to do…Where is the ravishing and heartbreaking popcorn sweeping of ‘The Flick?’”
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"'The Antipodes' moves along slowly, with lots of pauses and little real dramatic action. But the dialogue she's written is clear and contemporary...Since the script has no clearly defined story line or theme, it is, in short, a head-scratcher...The Joycean surrealism tends to be more challenging than consistently engaging. Fortunately, director Neugebauer does tap into the humor as well as the play's bafflingly dark underside. And she's got a very capable cast to help her do so."
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“Every new play by Annie Baker is a marvel over the play before. It's been nothing less than a privilege to accompany her on her journey, as she has been joining ranks with the best American playwrights. Part of what makes Baker the ‘best,’ is that she has her own voice. Whether with ‘Circle-Mirror Transformation,’ ‘The Flick,’ or her latest and current, ‘The Antipodes,’ Baker seems to devote a certain amount of attention to group dynamics, which is, after all, the basis of any drama.”
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"In true Baker style, nothing grand happens throughout the entirety of 'The Antipodes,' and by doing so, the piece is all the more delicious...In telling a story about people telling a story, Baker exposes time in new ways...Those less familiar with Baker's work, or less on board with her style, might easily walk out wondering what they have just seen. Annie Baker has created her most self-aware work yet, with every thought being simultaneously literal and allegorical."
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“Baffling, riveting, and ultimately rewarding…The storytelling grows increasingly bizarre…A tense, tantalizing two-hours, deftly directed by Lila Neugebauer…I won’t reveal the play’s punch line – it’s well worth waiting for. Suffice it to say that Baker’s brilliant play succeeds on two levels. On one, it’s a scathing satire on the storytelling industry…On a deeper level, it’s an existential inquiry into the essence of stories.”
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