The Last Days of the Commune at Prop Theatre

Chicago Reader - Somewhat Recommended

"...he music-composed and directed by Kyle Ann Greer, playing keyboards near stage left-rarely blends with the dialogue and the amplified instruments often drown out the unamplified singing, while the video segments are unnecessary and often inaudible. The busy shuttling of 23-member cast on- and offstage contributes to a cacophonous and inchoate production that leaves the audience bludgeoned and bloodied on the barricades much like those poor Communards."

Third Coast Review - Not Recommended

"...Bertolt Brecht is an interesting, if often didactic, playwright. And so it is with The Last Days of the Commune, a play that was incomplete when he died in 1956. Props to Prop Thtr for taking on the sometimes tricky task of staging a Brecht play, adapted and directed by Stefan Brun. The period of the Paris Commune is less well-known than some other revolutionary movements and there’s a great deal of relevant history and drama here, but Prop Thtr’s production and staging are lackluster and sometimes confusing."

NewCity Chicago - Somewhat Recommended

"...However, I had many questions upon exiting this show and it felt like the ensemble of actors did, too. It seems that Brün wanted the play to speak for itself because of its denseness, difficulty and Brechtian tendencies. However, in order to accomplish that, the ensemble must be harmonious and the work must feel "lived in." Delayed entrances, line jumps, a lack of understanding of line delivery, uncomfortable staging and the distracting white noise created by the onstage film did create an alienation in the audience though it was born from a lack of cohesive, professional performance not metaphorical or representational direction."