Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West: The Intersection of Art and Authenticity
Roda Theater / Berkeley Rep (2025 Addison Street Berkeley, CA 94704)
- Full Price:
- $27.00 - $63.00
- Our Price:
- FREE - $31.50*
* Additional fees apply.
All offers for Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West have expired.
The last date listed for Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West was Sunday March 7, 2010 / 7:00pm.
Goldstar Member Tips
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Dorgon on What to Wear
Casual is fine. It's Berkeley.
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Goldstar Member on What to Wear
Moderate dining within walking distance: Venezia, Liason,
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Goldstar Member on Other
If flashing lights bother you, get cheaper seat toward back
12 Goldstar Member Reviews
J
Truly a huge disappointment. As others have stated most productions are stellar at Berk Rep. This was lack luster and unimpressive. The female actors and a few of the male actors were decent. The male actor with the gray hat (the husband), he was simply reading and spitting out lines. This was just a choppy and boring production. I thought the flashing lights were cool and they woke me up when I was drifting. They should do away with real cigars. There are warning signs posted at the doors yet there really is no need for authentic smelling cigars. On a positive note, the set was enjoyable and clever. Overall, this play needs lots of work.Written on Mar 07 2010
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Thomas O'Leary
Pretty obtuse on one hand and rather simplistic on the other. Fine production values--very clever and interesting set and costumes, flawless acting--but what was the arc of the story? The middle bar scene dragged even though its elaborate set design begged for more content. Why the glass floored steps and platform upon which not one person walked?Written on Mar 05 2010
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Naughty Baby Jesus
It was boring and the acting was horrible. This suprised me because I have generally enjoyed what I have seen at Berkeley Rep. But the acting of the male actors seemed like a high school play. There just spitting out their lines as fast as they could in a monotone. We walked out after 45 minutes.Written on Mar 03 2010
On the plus side, you can get a scoop of ice cream for a dollar right down the block. And we had dinner at Angeline's Lousiana Kitchen and that was really good. Red wine is half price on Mondays and Tuesdays. So still an enjoyable evening.
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Goldstar Member
Overall, I liked this piece for a combination of reasons: imaginative set (with the panels and use of photographs and lighting); the costumes and temporary tattoo work; its interlocking parts; and the layers of plots and subplots and how the information on each character is revealed (or not) to the audience and the other characters.Written on Mar 08 2010
I think the actors did a good job with the material they had to work with. The problem for the audience may be that most of the characters aren't especially likeable.
As far as the flashing lights go, I was in the 2nd row from the stage and found the pops of light were indeed bright but not uncomfortable. I liked the use of them and assume the flashes were meant to be bright, to evoke the effect of early cameras with their exploding flash effects.
Having said all the above, I wouldn't call the play a must-see, but if you're going to go see it, definitely stay all the way through to see most of the actors play an alternate, modern-day role and to see some of the twists.
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More Information About Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West
Website
http://www.berkeleyrep.org/season/0910/3653.asp
Description
Well before the digital age, the camera selected, filtered and obscured the truth—even as it promised to provide an authentic look at distant lands. Naomi Iizuka explores the intersection of art and authenticity in a haunting play commissioned by Berkeley Rep: Concerning Strange Devices from the Distant West.
Taking its title from a treatise on photography translated into Japanese, the play shifts between the present and the 1880s when a weird new technology first seized the world in freeze frame. Cameras capture images of geishas, monks and shrines and send them to the future in a flash—where we continue to seek meaning through lenses of exoticism and xenophobia. The intricate parts of this world premiere nestle together like a delicate puzzle … or erotic glimpses of an enigmatic tattoo. Experience the mystery of Strange Devices.
Naomi Iizuka’s plays have been seen at major theatres in Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles, New York, Portland, San Diego, San Francisco and Seattle. Berkeley Rep also presented the world premiere of her 36 Views before it played off Broadway.
Les Waters, associate artistic director, won an Obie Award for Big Love. His shows have ranked among the 10 best plays of 2007 in Time, 2006 in the New York Times and 2005 in TimeOut New York.
About the Ticket Supplier: Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Known for its amazing and adventurous audience, the nonprofit has provided a home for emerging and established artists since 1968. With two stages and a Tony Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre, Berkeley Rep premieres exhilarating new plays and reimagined classics. In the last five years alone, the company has helped send five shows to Broadway: Green Day's American Idiot, Bridge & Tunnel, In the Next Room (or the vibrator play), Passing Strange and Wishful Drinking. Come see tomorrow's plays today at Berkeley Rep.
Berkeley Rep operates two performance spaces: the Roda Theatre, a state-of-the-art 600-seat proscenium theatre, and the intimate, 400-seat Thrust Stage. The Theatre is located in the heart of downtown Berkeley's arts district, just a half block from the Berkeley BART station, near lots of restaurants, cafe, pubs, and cool retailers.