Underground Railroad Game NYC Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (122)
See it if you want to be repeatedly punched in the face by a singularly aggressive piece of theatre
Don't see it if you dislike nudity/sexual situations, or if racially based sexual power struggles make you uncomfortable
See it if you think an unflinching exposure of the link between race & sex in slavery’s legacy is something the public art of theater should be doing.
Don't see it if unflinching exposure of the inextricable link between race & sex in slavery’s legacy might be too much for you to endure. Read more
See it if you like quirky shows that have something important to say and do so in a creative, startling way. Very, very good.
Don't see it if you want a strong ending.This just sort of stopped with no coda or satisfying closing.Other than that, it was terrific.
See it if Raucous, violent & raunchy. An educational school game about slavery goes too far. This play has both a heart and real teeth.
Don't see it if I'm not sure the script fully buys into itself until quite far in the game, when sex and humiliation meet. Read more
See it if Bold and provocative discussions about race relations. First-rate and dedicated performances. Intimate venue and conversation platform.
Don't see it if There were intense and shocking moments that *appear* gratuitous, but if you let them sink in, you might appreciate the thoughtful execution
See it if you'd like an intense, funny, stinging look at race relations, civil war legacies, & male/female relations in a brilliant, audacious setting
Don't see it if you don't like nudity, strong language, situations taking racial issues to an extreme, male/female violence & minimal audience participation
See it if you're interested in power dynamics within relationships, you like plays that interrogate identity, you want to be shaken and stirred.
Don't see it if you need narrative, emotional connection, story; you hate deconstruction; you don't like stories about race, politics, or identity.
See it if You want to experience something really original and in your face.
Don't see it if You are easily offended by strong words and strong sexual images.
Critic Reviews (24)
"It took a while for the cynical part of me to warm to this show. It is a little too earnest in places and tries too hard to be edgy. But halfway through the fast-paced show I was hooked...Kidwell and Sheppard are excellent in the roles, but even more than that, they are fearless. They walk right up to the edge of what people are comfortable with and then jump across, believing we have the guts to follow...By the end, I wasn’t positive what I saw, but I knew I would remember it for a long time."
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"A brilliant theatrical commentary on contemporary race relations…’Underground Railroad Game’ is both wildly entertaining and profoundly troubling…Under Taibi Magar’s direction, the two brave actors play with and mock their own and each other’s physical presences...All the while they craft characters within characters. We watch layers piled on and then layers peeled away."
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"'Underground Railroad Game,' a bold and imaginative theatrical piece, is a bawdy satire in which the audience is made to look head-on at the serious issues of race, sexuality, and how we deal with them in the aftermath of slavery...Kidwell as Caroline gives a raw, bold, yet vulnerable interpretation...Sheppard’s comical yet painfully exposed performance as Stuart breaks through serious barriers that society doesn’t often discuss."
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"There’s something in it to offend almost everyone. And I wouldn’t have missed it for the world…’Underground Railroad Game’ is an outrageous and hilarious show, a play that explores race relations…Sarah Sanford’s dynamic direction moves the audience fluidly from reality to fantasy and from century to century…’Underground Railroad Game’ is often uncomfortable to watch, but that’s the point. There’s no resolution to these contradictory viewpoints, no easy answers."
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"A funny, poignant take on racial politics...Director Sarah Sanford teases out this devised production's humor with exaggerated movements and dialect…Kidwell and Sheppard show us the social construct of American racial difference. It's learned behavior...But it's historical legacy, and an indelible aspect of our collective psyche, and now we're stuck with it. At least Kidwell and Sheppard help us laugh at the mess we've made, even as we try to clean it up."
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"Kidwell and Sheppard’s skillfully devised work slowly bends and breaks the separation between historical Americana and contemporary experience…The dialogue in this work, particularly in a scene where Stuart and Caroline walk home from a movie, was honest and well thought out…The audience was at times in fits of laughter or prayer-like silence…The deftness of this work in its ability to use humor and emotion honestly produced a complex performance from two gifted co-creators."
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"The delightfully awkward metafiction ‘Underground Railroad Game’ is a twisted melange of some of our fiercest taboos...This two-person play (masterfully helmed by Jenn Kidwell and Scott Sheppard) revels gleefully in seditious satire…As scenes and timelines shift, so does the comedic intensity and so do the stakes …’Underground Railroad Game’ doesn’t so much provide answers, but instead maniacally guides us towards the questions we never thought we should be asking."
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"'Underground Railroad Game' addresses all the awkward peculiarities of interracial interaction without sounding cheap or even full of itself. Despite the play’s reputation for being raunchy and offensive, I found myself feeling exposed more than uncomfortable, and in an inexplicably good way; with so many relatable, valid observations being manifested before my eyes, I felt as if the play was written specifically for me...But the truth is that it was written for everyone."
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