Chicago Sun Times
- Recommended
"...Finding balm in the pursuit of this adventure are: the distracted, depressive Braukmann (Tom Hickey); loutish Slupianek (Jamie Vann); tense Buscher (John Ferrick); smart, suicidal Seiffert (Michael Dailey), and their stuttering young sidekick, Frankieboy (Joel Ewing), who plays the roles of the sweet sled dogs ultimately shot for food. For their “theater,” they have commandeered the attic of Braukmann’s house, where his exasperated wife, strongly tethered to reality, hangs her laundry to dry. (Jennifer Avery, artistic director of Next Theatre, gives a fabulously earthy and nuanced performance.)"
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"...German playwright Manfred Karge provides no psychological or social context for the men's interminable childishness, so it's no surprise that Kimberly Senior's handsomely designed, well-acted Strawdog Theatre production feels empty."
ChicagoCritic
- Recommended
"...The work is filled with humor, wit and a child-like playfulness that engages us as the fantasy unfolds. Don’t we all, at times, want to escape our dreary lives by escaping into a fantasy adventure. Lead by the strong work from Jamie Vann with terrific turns by Tom Hickey, John Ferrick, Michael Dailey and Jennifer Avery, The Conquest of the South Pole is a provocative fable that looks into the effects of idleness on the adult psyche. The devastation turns upon the arrival of a rich acquaintance to a drunken party. This show is filled with manic performances that get to the heart of mood of these folks. The truthful ensemble work does justice to Karge’s work."
Chicago Stage and Screen
- Not Recommended
"...Strawdog has produced some mighty fine plays over their 23 seasons, and I respect the work of Director Kimberly Senior. But "Conquest of the South Pole" is ultimately a failed work. A noble failure, perhaps. But one that sheds no light on the actual historical story and characters and feels convoluted at best. Ted Tally's "Terra Nova" chartered some of the same territory with far stronger dramatic results. Desperation can indeed lead to innovation, but in this case it leads to theatrical tedium."
Reviews You Can Iews
- Highly Recommended
"...The play starts strangely, the first few exploratory bites always being cautious – no one wants to bite into a dry McNugget. Thankfully, no Sweet and Sour was needed. The cast is pretty juicy and fresh – Jennifer Avery is a real stand-out here, though her character’s connection to fast food might have tipped the scales for me. But she’s also pretty and she acts good, which might be more important. The use of the space is great – functional and elegant – using two 10-piece McNugget boxes both provides an easily measurable benchmark in one’s race for the South Pole of satiety, as well as helping to maintain the illusion that someone is going to share their 20-piece McNugget Meal Deal with someone who is just about to show up."
Chicago Theater Beat
- Recommended
"...In its pell-mell energy and kinetic stage pictures ”Conquest” strongly recalls past Chicago productions of English plays about bored and wasted youth–Road, Stags and Hens, Bouncers, (It also resembles Marat/Sade in its inspired yoking of an historical event with a dysfunctional present.) What’s unique to Karge’s 1986 work is the depiction of untapped ingenuity; in the desperation of the men’s elaborate theatrics, midlife crises and frenetic male-bonding, you taste the loss of so much thwarted art, squandered by hard times and bad luck."
