Ruffles, or A Progression of Rakes

See it if you are interested in theatrical experiment & can tolerate loose ends & a few uninspired patches.

Don't see it if you want a traditional drama or a fully finished piece.

Also I am scoring “Ruffles” as highly as I do with this footnote: The piece does not feel finished, & what is there feels very uneven. I do not mind seeing works-in-progress; you might. I did not find “Ruffles” as interesting, surprising or beautiful as the playwright-director’s piece this past summer at the ICE Festival, “Madame Lynch.” But there was sporadic brilliance here, quirky characters, an easy feel for expanding the form & wonderful costumes & stage objects. That is more than enough to keep me wondering what theatrical provocation Normandy Sherwood will bring us next.... Read more Read less

See it if You have a friend in the cast.

Don't see it if You want a clear story beyond the first 20 minutes. You want a show with a purpose. You want good direction/scene transitions.

See it if you're okay watching something that is defiantly unfinished, or you love raking.

Don't see it if you expect an artist to hold themselves to some kind of intellectual standard, or you hate raking.

Also After the messy, but ultimately promising, ICE Factory production of Madame Lynch I was terribly interested in "The Drunkard's Wife." Madame Lynch was highly unfocused, but it felt like a more or less complete show in need of a good edit. It was beautiful to look at, the words were magical, and it had enough for the audience to engage with the material on a handful of levels.

Ruffles has none of those qualities. It is ugly, it is rough, it is poorly directed, it is unfinished, the design is incohesive. The writer/director attempts to write these problems off by inserting a monologue into the titular characters' mouth at the end of the show by saying that she doesn't have to be concerned with any of these things, that she "presents a black hole." I'm fine with someone presenting "a black hole" to me, but they better make sure the elements in that hole are worth looking at.... Read more Read less