The Birthday Party at City Lit Theater

Chicago Reader - Highly Recommended

"...If you were concerned that Chicago's storefront theaters lost their mojo during the pandemic, get thee to Terry McCabe's gripping production of The Birthday Party by Harold Pinter. It's a meta-accomplishment: not a false note in this version of a play that's entirely about false notes. Pinter's breakthrough piece (albeit a flop at the time), encompasses all the themes for which he later became known: the mindlessness and dishonesty of most of what passes for communication; the universal capacity, and appetite, for savagery; how no one is innocent but anyone might be a victim; how most efforts at heroism-or even simple humanity-end with a whimper."

Around The Town Chicago - Highly Recommended

"...David Fink excels in the role of Stanley in Harold Pinter's "The Birthday Party", a 1957 story dealing with the effects of psychological torture and mind control. Through the performance, Fink channels Stanley to a "T", having him act strangely and borderline autistic. Stanley has lived for about one year at Meg's boarding house, owned and operated by Meg Bowles (Elaine Carlson) and her husband Petey (Linsey Falls). The boarding house is largely empty, but Meg finds herself expecting two new guests: Goldberg (James Sparling) and McCann (Will Casey), both of whom are apparently are already acquainted with Stanley... and for that matter, Petey as well."

Chicago Theatre Review - Highly Recommended

"...This latest production by City is profound and penetrating. It’s also highly entertaining and not without its share of comedy. The production is faithful to the style and intent of every Harold Pinter work written, and it ticks all the boxes of a carefully-produced and smartly acted Absurdist play. Coming into this production knowing that it’s open to interpretation, and that there are many layers beneath we actually see, hear and feel about the characters, is important. The strange individuals that populate this story, the Pinteresque pauses and the vague horrors seeming to lurk outside this shabby, seaside boarding house are paramount to the pervading dark mood of this piece. So when Meg keeps asking the others, “Is it nice?” she may really be questioning the world around her."

Buzznews.net - Highly Recommended

"...The Birthday Party’ was Harold Pinter’s first full length play, and it broke the mold, launching a genre: it is a ”comedy of menace” (as opposed to comedy of errors or of manners). Perhaps because it is so out-of-the-box, it closed after just eight performances following its 1957 premiere. But a positive review secured attention for Pinter, and ‘The Birthday Party’ is now recognized as a masterwork."

NewCity Chicago - Recommended

"...Watching the play today, the figure of Stanley shuffling around in his shabby robe, afraid or unable to go outside, puts me in mind of Julian Assange rattling around for years in the Ecuadorian embassy in London, pursued by the Goldbergs and McCanns of our own intelligence services for the sin of having told the truth. Since “The Birthday Party” premiered decades ago, audience members have wondered, who is Stanley? The sad truth is, in a world where individuals continue to feel powerless in the face of unaccountable institutions, Stanley is us."