“Scenes From An Execution”: My FT Review
The Financial Times has posted my review of an off-Broadway production of Howard Barker‘s play “Scenes from an Execution.” Bottom line: ‘“I hate argument†says Galactia, the fictional 16th-century Venetian painter at the heart of Barker’s play. Yet this highly engaging work, written for radio in 1984, carries on a series of back-and-forth arguments about the trustworthiness of beauty, the role of the critic and the relationship between artist and patron, which for Galactia is the Venetian state. Jan Maxwell (pictured) played Galactia in Potomac Theater Project (PTP/NYC)’s 2008 production of the play, and reprises the role for the same company here. Her fierceness as an actress makes her well suited to Barker’s work.’
