ULYSSES

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About the Show

Elevator Repair Service tackles James Joyce’s Ulysses in a fast-paced, inventive stage adaptation.

Elevator Repair Service returns with a New York City premiere inspired by James Joyce’s Ulysses. The production condenses and reimagines Joyce’s modernist novel into a two-and-a-half-hour performance, blending humor, pathos, and physicality. Seven actors begin a straightforward reading that quickly unravels into a chaotic, playful journey through the novel’s shifting styles and episodes. Using verbatim text from Joyce’s work, the ensemble creates a layered exploration of language, desire, and the absurdities of everyday life.

Critic Reviews (9)

"Tackling the whole book is a signature ERS move...But taking on the whole book is also where ERS's approach falters."
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"This Ulysses is a great entry point for those who don’t know the novel but might want to take a swing at it."
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"What follows is less James Joyce's novel than the spectacle of this theatre troupe wrestling with it. Guess who wins."
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"Ulysses is a bold production that both enlightens and challenges us to wander, sometimes aimlessly, through the world that James Joyce left for us to decipher. "
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“Like the novel, this Ulysses is best enjoyed in patches rather than as a whole.”
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"a good introduction for the uninitiated and a good review for those who have read the complete novel"
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The Elevator Repair Service’s production feels more like gloss than adaptation, an exercise that captures elements of Joyce without ever standing on its own terms.
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This innovative art form was riveting to watch.
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