EXILES

Director and Scenic Design Kévin V. Smith

Text James Joyce

Cast David Bettino, Daiva Bhandari, Rafael Franco, Evan Hill, Laura Jones, Melissa Lorraine, Théo Tougne

Costume and Lighting Design Bridget Earnshaw

Hair and Makeup Design Juan Contreras-Kirby

Assistant Director E Barnick

Choreography Juan Contreras, Viviana Mendez, Kévin V. Smith

Production Theatre Y

“HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Startling, haunting. James Joyce’s only play gets a hyper-stylized treatment in [this] inventive, intense production. Director Kevin V. Smith spotlights the play’s oppressive sexual politics: The female characters are done up like drag queens, their suppressed emotions bursting out in spasms, shouting fits, and—at the end of each act—explosive lip-sync numbers.” Chicago Reader

“In Kevin V. Smith’s stylized and imaginative staging, questions of the ‘exile’ women especially find in unequal domestic arrangements loom large. Arresting images lift this play above its usual status as minor literary curiosity.” Chicago Tribune

“RECOMMENDED. Beautiful, powerful. A bizarre world, within which characters refuse to look at each other, staring straight at the audience, or start trembling and convulsing, throwing tables and chairs, and behaving in generally outlandish and weird manners. It’s sort of like Priscilla, Queen of the Desert on a very heavy Ibogaine trip. And it works so well. No, it is not theatre for everyone; those slaves to realism should not go – they would not understand. But this theatre is asking you to expand your theatrical tastes and knowledge, and does so kindly yet unapologetically, eagerly yet well.” Chicago Critic

“Visually captivating. A daring revival of Joyce’s rarely seen theatrical endeavor.” Chicago Theater Beat

“Innovative. Drag is the great success of this production. It would have made RuPaul’s Drag Race look like amateur hour (well, season three, anyway). The more daring [Smith’s] choices are, the better they play out. ” Chicago Stage Review