The Man Who
Oliver Sacks's book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat (1985) drew attention to a relatively new subject: syndromes related to the right hemisphere of the brain (which controls how we perceive space, recognizing faces, imagery, and also music). Sacks called the right the side of the self and illustrated the humanity of his subjects, as does Sir Peter Brook's adaptation. In New Village Art's staging, its clear that director Kristianne Kurner wants to avoid making The Man Who a freak show (at times, however, Scott Paulson's otherwise excellent sounds and electric charges zapping in circles make ghoulish comments). Less clear is what the theater piece intends. The approach, for the most part, is cold and clinical, and most of the show's 90 minutes have a rational, left-brain quality: an accumulation of pathologies. Toward the end, breakthrough scenes - Ron Choularton with Tourette's Syndrome; Manny Fernandes speaking in deeply felt but meaningless sentences - reveal what Sacks was after: what a patient's "situation" feels like.
When
Ongoing until Friday, February 26, 2010
Hours
| Sundays, 2pm |
| Thursdays, 8pm |
| Fridays, 8pm |
| Saturdays, 3pm & 8pm |
