Chicago Tribune
- Recommended
"... Just to be clear here, one watches this show, an early and highly influential classic of the so-called theater of the absurd, looking down on the actors from directly above, a most rare perspective and an experience akin to staring at a pair of rats from the top of their cage. If you know this play, wherein the hit men get their orders from the titular dumb waiter, you'll guess that Djukic (and his fine designer, Joey Wade) are playing with the idea of putting the audience in the role of the cruel masters of the universe, shooting silly, terrible instructions down to the hapless, pliant duo down below, even though they seem to have no chance of fulfilling them."
Chicago Reader
- Somewhat Recommended
"... The unconventional arrangement heightens both the script's sense of entrapment and its wry comedy, as the men resemble tightly caged lab rats with hardly an ounce of imagination between them. But the tops of heads aren't terribly expressive, so it's often difficult to connect with the actors, and Djukic's emphasis on comedy undermines the feeling of menace that should give the play urgency. Halfway through, the characters "discover" the audience is watching, a glaring conceptual blunder: assassins on a secret assignment wouldn't stick around once they’re found out."
Centerstage
- Highly Recommended
"... It is a riveting 63 minutes of theater, vigorously shaking off calcified notions about the play, probing the boundary between PInter and Theater of the Absurd. It’s risky; daring. Some of the aforementioned questions are left unanswered. In less skilled hands this piece might fall short, but TUTA is a seasoned company of thoughtful, energetic, and skillful artists. This production is funny, unnerving, challenging, and wholly worth seeing."
ChicagoCritic
- Highly Recommended
"... Though the mechanical device of the pulley and door at the center of this production has long since fallen from favor in the establishments of the rich, the habit of those in power to separate themselves from those they control has never left us. This is human nature: in the famous “trolley problem,” 90% of people can throw a switch to save five people by killing one, but cannot push one on a track to save the same five. The difference is separation. Just one degree of removal (in this case, a switch) is all it takes to be able to distance ourselves from our ethics. Turn a trolley into a pulley and there you have it: a neatly summarized microcosm of the systems of inscrutable and invisible control that affect us all. TUTA’s interpretation brings Pinter’s indelible dumb waiter to smart new life and a new century where old natures are still firmly entrenched."
Around The Town Chicago
- Recommended
"... *Harold Pinter created characters in his plays that were very life-like , using theater to mirror people and their issues-social , political and in many cases, psychological. Amazingly, TUTA Theatre Chicago , takes one of his greatest and best known works, “The Dumb Waiter” to a new level in its current production in their studio theater “loft” located in what might be termed an industrial area located on Fulton just west of Damen. Arriving at the theater, at 2010 west Fulton is just the start of the adventure that Tuta and Pinter bring to us. You buzz the TUTA buzzer and the door is buzzed back to allow you entrance to the facility. Up the stairs one flight and to your left in what feels like an industrial building, passing many doors, you get to the entrance. When you enter, you are placed in a small room that has a video projected on the wall, a bar and chairs and tables. A bell rings and the barkeep escorts you into the “theater” slowly up a ramp, to another floor where the audience members gather, single file to observe what will take place below. You will be on your feet, looking down on the action for about 60 minutes, so be prepared."
