Havel: The Passion of Thought

See it if you don't know Havel; he is a must-see playwright. His 3 pieces have diff styles...and all are excellent. Bookend Pinter/Beckett are good.

Don't see it if you dislike provocative political plays. Acting is mostly strg. Gr night of theater, unless you only like airy musicals.

See it if 5 shorts all well done with good casting and direction.

Don't see it if If you want a musical or something that is not deep.

See it if to see a quintet of subversive political plays that illuminate the subjugation of dissidents in the 70s/80s/90s (& still resonates today).

Don't see it if u aren't interested in political theatre; u don't want to be confronted with the realities (from the POV of a rebel) of communist repression

Also The centerpiece of this production -- a triptych by future statesman Václav Havel -- is a real find. His voice, which led to his imprisonment & eventually to the Czech Presidency, is one that we really need in today's Western theatre. Havel's work is bookended by two short but piercingly effective pieces by Pinter and Beckett, that brilliantly compliment Havel's chilling message about authoritarianism. Uneven casting mars an otherwise gripping, fascinating & poignant evening of theatre.

Playing in rep with (fellow Czech) Tom Stoppard's Dogg's Hamlet & Cahoot's Macbeth, this is a winner of a double-header by the reliable PTP/NYC theatre company.

Also... If you're not familiar with Václav Havel, get to the theatre early & watch the newsreels from the day he died, including an interview with former Secretary of State (& Czech native) Madeleine Albright.... Read more Read less

See it if 5 one acts-brief yet w/the potency of a bee string Well directed by Ramagnoli, all show a creeping dystopian view of society past & present

Don't see it if Havel's 3 Vanek's plays (the centerpiece) prove the weak part of the evening except the farsighted 'Protest' Pinter's opener is knife sharp

See it if you are interested in experiencing theater of the absurd at its most politically committed.

Don't see it if scenes of muted political torture would upset you too much to sit through.

Also This smart evening of 1-acts brings together short works from 2 generations of “absurdists” united in the cause of free expression. Very brief works from Pinter & Beckett, written for Vaclav Havel, playwright, political prisoner & future president, bookend 3 longer Havel 1-acts. The bookends are stark, precise in their writing & performance, shocking in their inhumanity & hit like a gut punch. Havel’s 3 Vanek plays from the mid-1970s, a decade after the formally wilder, more typically absurdist plays that brought the playwright his first fame, came after he’d been imprisoned for opposing the ruling Czech regime’s crackdown after the 1968 Prague Spring. Absurdity in the Vanek plays—sharing a central character who’s a clear stand-in for the playwright—is in the situation, the inhuman gyrations humans go through in order to live within a senseless totalitarian system. The acting is fine; the staging is strong. The full evening is at once thrilling & deeply troubling.... Read more Read less

See it if Middle triptych of the Czech plays focuses on dissident writer's (Havel) struggle on his path of accommodation/compromise using truth/virtue

Don't see it if Reliable acting from The Potomac Project offsets the thematically-appropriate, but superfluous bookend plays. (2:15)

Also "Good to know there's someone like you."

See it if Political play that are intense with good acting.

Don't see it if If you like musical

Also This is my first time seeing anything done by Havel, serious with a touch of funny moments.... Read more Read less

See it if you enjoy intelligent theater with thought provoking and relevant dialogue. Havel's 2nd and 3rd plays the best of the five. Good acting.

Don't see it if you like fluffy or humorous theater. Even the funny parts were dark.

Also I loved what they did with the staging of the five plays in a very small space. The actors were superb.... Read more Read less

See it if Politics & oppression vs comedy & passivity; realism vs absurdism, free will vs. coersion. 5 plays of political satire well directed/acted.

Don't see it if you prefer straight comedy or drama; don't like political plays using the same passive protagonist who seems to light a fire under others.

See it if Your a fan of brilliant 20th century writers! Havel, Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter.

Don't see it if You’re looking for musical of comedy.

See it if you want to see 4 great, varied shorts that explore suppression and dissidence with more care and insight (and less ego) than railing satire

Don't see it if 1 so-so Pinter act is a dealbreaker for you even if it’s only maybe 6 minutes long and sort of silly

Also Havel's plays helped him end a Communist regime. What a great discovery! The show largely avoids preaching and fatalism. The Vanek plays surprised me by how they were able to represent the hero’s opposing characters without condescension or ridicule. Gave me a “they don’t make them like they used to” feeling.

This is running in rep with Dogg’s Hamlet, Cahoot’s Macbeth. Both are worth a look and complement each other, but Havel is the more accessible and humane of the two.... Read more Read less

See it if political one-act plays, 3 middle ones by Havel written in 70's under repressive Czech regime; pieces by Pinter & Beckett; absurdist works

Don't see it if don't want plays about life under repressive regimes; sometimes a little heavy-handed but 'Protest' very good with its moral dilemma

Also an excellent David Barlow represents the playwright in all the pieces (even the Pinter & Beckett ones.)
The Pinter & Beckett ones fit well. Was disappointed in the Beckett one by the other actors.... Read more Read less

See it if you like content that is, at times, difficult to understand, 5 1 acts that vary in quality & analysis of society, politics & human traits.

Don't see it if you dislike plays that can be challenging to comprehend, are serious rather than light entertainment & are somewhat philosophical.

See it if You want to see five short plays involving dissidents that are absurd, clever, and politically charged.

Don't see it if You need straightforward plays or are not interested in politics.

Also This was my first time experiencing any of Havel’s plays. I am very impressed and completely intrigued.... Read more Read less

See it if In tandem with Dogg's Hamlet and Cahoot's Macbeth a revisitation of two Czech playwrights and their work viewed through a contemporary lens

Don't see it if heady, intelligent, resonant, political and quite astonishing, as well as quirky, dissonant and unusual​.

Also astonishing acting---everything was stellar-- worth seeing twice.

See it if you are a fan of Pinter and Havel and enjoy one act plays that make you think.

Don't see it if you don't enjoy one act plays and don't enjoy plays that are not on the surface

Also I found several of the one-act plays too long. I enjoyed them, but kept wishing that that act be over.... Read more Read less

See it if you want to see 5 serious one act plays about politics and dissident activities. 3 plays by Vaclav Havel, & one each by Pinter and Beckett

Don't see it if If you are tired of seeing things about politics. Two of the one acts by Havel were basically the same play with different characters.

See it if Havel's trilogy on dissident Czech Vaneck,Pinter's New World Order&Beckett'Catastrophe are still relevant on morality&tiranny.Grt act&set

Don't see it if you don't like absurdist playwrights who are often mirrors/molders, reflecting /changing history&instilling "passion" into new playwrights.

Also Kudos to PTP, director Richard Romagnoli
and brilliant actor David Barlow.... Read more Read less

See it if a worthwhile opportunity to see 3 short but related plays written in a repressive regime.

Don't see it if you don't like or have had enough of political plays, or would find a mix of absurdity and realism incompatible.

Also The Pinter sets the tone; the Beckett seems anti-climatic, although appropriate as a brief portrait of the state striving to keep the artist manipulable and silent.
Variable as the Havel plays are-I liked the 3rd (the straightforward one) best; the 2nd one least (over the top absurdity).
Critics often call writers or their work "brave," "fierce," and so on; to me such characterizations are hyperbolic and unwarranted. But Havel really was brave (he'd probably have denied
it) and his plays and years in jail prove it. Critics diminish the bravery of truly brave writers by using "brave" as a generic adjective for work (which may be very good) that points out political or family problems in our society.... Read more Read less

See it if Intelligent thought provoking political theater. Great writing & acting. Valclav Havel plays resonate today & not to be missed.

Don't see it if You do not like profound theater.

See it if you fear our country is entering a totalitarian phase and want to see a glimpse of the paranoia and absurdity of life in that environment

Don't see it if your head is in the sand about what is happening in Washington...

See it if you love laughing with amazing writing - my laughter came from deep within, really powerful stuff!

Don't see it if you hate absurdist theater

See it if Interested in a good presentation of five short political satires.

Don't see it if You’re looking for something light and fluffy. Small theater.

See it if You crave relevant drama from a master who knows his subject - tyranny - first hand: the reality of oppressed life and ambiguity of action.

Don't see it if you prefer "on the nose", "tyranny is bad" plays.

Also Havel's memory may have faded here in the 50 years since he not only experienced oppression in his native Czechoslovakia, but played an important role in ending it. Still, I wish his 3 one-acts had not been bookended by short exercises by Pinter and Beckett (names sure to attract a crowd), which only showed off, to my mind, how much stronger a dramatist Havel really was.... Read more Read less

See it if Five plays probing "living in a lie." Deep, challenging & philosophical. The 2nd & 3rd are also very funny. Excellent writing & directing

Don't see it if You don't want to be confronted with disturbing material, set in communist Eastern Europe, with a lot to say about the human condition.