Bard Fiction presented by Commedia Beauregard at City Lit Theater

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...At first it's pretty funny to see the movie's sleazeballs dressed up in tights and using thees and thous, but scriptwriters Ben Tallen, Aaron Greer, and Brian Watson-Jones are too faithful to the source material. Their scene-by-scene re-creation of the film gets tedious, especially since they're working with a one-joke premise. The one thing that never gets old is watching Josh Zagoren doing Travolta doing blank verse."

Windy City Times - Recommended

"...Christopher Kidder-Mostrom's minimal scenic design is augmented by Joe Griffin's richly detailed soundscape and Jackie Davis' array of all-ages costumes and wigs. Zach Livingston is also to be commended for his imaginative analogical conversions from ballistic violence to old-school steel. ( Note the scene where divine intervention comes to the aid of our heroes during an ambush by a spear-wielding assassin. ) The only improvement to the experience currently being offered audiences would be a playbill synopsis of Tarantino's screenplay to expedite the comprehension and, it is hoped, the appreciation of playgoers unversed in the vernacular of post-Renaissance London or who—alack the day!—may never have seen the movie."

ChicagoCritic - Not Recommended

"...The large cast was amazing in that not one of them pronounced and articulates properly the language with Steven Royce and Josh Zaforen as the worst offenders of in-articulation. Using the Bard’s language to satirize a cult film is a bad idea and with a cast of mumblers a total disaster. Skip this tedious bore."

Chicago Stage and Screen - Somewhat Recommended

"...For those like myself for whom Pulp Fiction is a distant memory, some parts also confused me. To work as more than a quirky addendum to the movie, the play needs to find a way to clue the audience in to the idiosyncratic sequencing. To Tarantino purists, this may sound like heresy, but clarification in some form, even via signs carried across the stage, would have helped keep my interest from waning."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"... I arrived at Commedia Beauregard’s production of “Bard Fiction” under an unusual set of circumstances. It was later in the run, and I did what I never do: took a cursory glance at excerpts from other critical notices which weren’t universally positive. I also had spent the day watching “Pulp Fiction” for the first time, despite a general dislike for violence, especially on screen so the film’s plot and script were fresh in my mind. City Lit Theatre is an unusual performance venue: a moderate sized house on the upper floor of a Presbyterian church in Edgewater (If you don’t know this, it can be difficult to find, and I had other things on my mind and wasn’t necessarily looking forward to the play so was grateful to have seen Titus Andronicus here earlier this year). Not only did the play hold my attention, but I couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised by the production."