Mother of Smoke Reviews

Chicago Reader - Not Recommended

"...The result is a dreamlike, thoroughly inexplicable wash of noise. Is it intended as absurdist comedy or heady performance art or something else entirely? Whatever the case, actors belt at the top of their lungs, speak over dialogue, and at multiple points throat-croak into a microphone for extended periods to produce a grating, godawful sound that merits review by The Hague. If this is the result, what on earth was the experiment?"

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...This mosaic narrative technique might hearken to theater's roots in pagan religious ceremony, but audiences unversed in its techniques ( imagine Blue Man Group in a ballroom, or the Living Canvas dancers fully clothed ) may find themselves bewildered. The key to appreciating the undeniable industry invested in its execution is to postpone the search for linear coherency, and instead embrace the sweaty exuberance generated by the manifestly hard-working ensemble striving for the kind of communal emotional experience enjoyed by our ancestors at the dawn of the art-and that we continue to champion today."

Time Out Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...But for too much of the show's running time (a long 90 minutes), it's choking on the harsh, hazy air of its own self-seriousness. All too often, the action onstage feels completely cut-off from actual human experience. It's artists making art about other artists for the benefit of even more artists who are big fans of the same artists as the original artists. As is true of much devised theatrical work-which is built collaboratively by the ensemble rather than from a set script-Mother of Smoke feels like it's still stuck in the rehearsal room. It never achieves escape velocity from its creators to allow it to cross the footlights and belong, as all art ultimately does, to the audience."

Around The Town Chicago - Recommended

"...Now enjoying its new home at the Pride Arts Center in Uptown's Buena Park, Red Tape Theatre has opened the venue's main stage to the site-specific performance company Walkabout Theatre. Under the direction of Walkabout's artistic director, Thom Pasculli, the ensemble-driven Mother of Smoke centers on Walkabout's use of movement."

Picture This Post - Somewhat Recommended

"...MOTHER OF SMOKE deals with themes of displacement, terror, and what would happen if the world were to hypothetically go up in smoke. You might feel frightened watching these worlds fall apart."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...The heart is here and even without traditional intellect or clear plot, “Mother of Smoke” wanders brilliantly into a miasmatic communion with its audience."