Chicago Tribune - Highly Recommended
"...The blocking is tight and cramped. The cast has barely enough room to maneuver, and when they tussle they almost go splat right on your shoes. Sometimes you're watching a scene from over an actor's shoulder. Any false moves, and the effect -- the jokes and the drama -- would be blown, but the ensemble is up to the task and then some. Senior has assembled a crackerjack design team as well (Christopher Burpee's lighting is especially focused) who have created a ripe, eavesdropping environment."
Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended
"...Senior places the actors in a narrow alley between opposing rows of seats, so audience members have a close-up view of the cat-and-mouse game. A smart, meticulous cast play most everything tight to the vest, making for a taut, absorbing evening. Peter Oyloe's performance as Katurian's mentally impaired brother is the show's heartbreaking highlight."
Windy City Times - Recommended
"...Highly respected veteran director Kimberly Senior and her cast clearly understand the play's intellectual and emotional complexities, and sometimes deliver them with considerable power and nuance. But they scale down the acting to fit the space rather than realizing the play's full theatrical potential. The Pillowman isn't a police procedural; it's a dark fantasy."
Centerstage - Recommended
"...Squeam-inducing as McDonagh's now well-known script is, the strong ensemble cast inflects the production with liveliness, adding sparkles of wit to the tense cat-and-mouse game of interrogation. Two candy-colored scenes (sets by Anders Jacobson and Judy Radovsky) turn nightmare narrative into visual treat. Overall, though, the oppressive darkness of the opening scene never lifts. Given the nature of the play, it's an open question whether this is an artistic failure, or success."
Edge - Highly Recommended
"...aside from impressive gore, fight scenes and intimate seating, the driving force of this show is the theme of "storytelling," and Senior keeps things clear and focused in this regard. As we were taught in debate class, a well-crafted story is always more compelling than facts or figures, and each character in this play recognizes this power - though they aren’t quite prepared for the resulted impact."
Chicago Stage Review - Recommended
"...Director Kimberly Senior takes this huge literary undertaking and scales it into a tiny black box to chilling effect. The interrogation happens quite literally in your lap and the staged stories happen on both sides of the seating area. Thanks to scenic designers Anders Jacobson and Judy Radovsky, the presentational stories and the representational reality of the play are visualized with striking and incredible contrast. Christopher Kriz’s original music and sound design add both authenticity to the representation and sinister atmosphere to the presentation."
Time Out Chicago - Highly Recommended
"...
McDonagh’s play, like one of Katurian’s proudest creations, is a puzzle without a solution: a cerebral, uncomfortably funny examination of storytelling and its uses that, unlike Grimm tales, provides no moral or cautionary lesson. Senior’s well-acted production doesn’t try to impose one. Jessop is terrific (if slightly too young) as the willfully blank Katurian, while Hickey’s perfectly sardonic as the good cop to the rage-filled bad cop (Garcia, pushing a bit too hard for the room). They do exactly what Katurian hopes for: They tell a good, harrowing tale, and they tell it well."
ChicagoCritic - Highly Recommended
"...The Pillowman moves into a hysterical edge of creepy storytelling theatre ripe with despair, child abuse and doom. The Redtwist Theatre production is riveting, shocking and thrilling. Tom Hickey, Peter Oyloe and, especially Andrew Jessop, were outstanding. The Pillowman proves that Chicago storefront theatre is red hot!"
Chicago Stage and Screen - Highly Recommended
"...There are several stories contained in this production and each of the main characters has some secrets. For most of the scenes, you will find yourself on the edge of your seat watching the way that these actors develop the characters written by McDonagh. The relationship between the brothers is very realistic and there is a chemistry between Oyloe and Jessop that makes you feel that they are in fact brothers. This is not normal Holiday fare but is quality theater that deserves to be seen. Redtwist has been earning their stripes so to speak, as one of the premier storefront theaters in Chicago and this production is worthy of more Jeff nominations."
Chicago Theater Beat - Recommended
"...Above all, the cast must go further to pull out all the dark humor that inhabits this play, dancing on that razor’s edge between laughs that undermine and laughs that reinforce its sadism. To this end, the side theaters that depict Katurian’s stories are quite impressive. Special attention should be given Marissa Meo’s depiction of the little girl who believes she is Jesus and willingly goes to violent limits to fulfill that belief. Her performance reflects the essence of play, something this production could use a little more of."
