Vera Blackwell

Certainly anyone who has worked in a corporation, and especially those who are so hooked into the online world via Twitter, will identify with the characters and situations in THE MEMORANDUM. And even though parts of it may go over your head politically, the clear message that corporations zap individuality will come through loud and clear.

This January, Flat Earth Theatre celebrates the legacy of legendary Czech playwright, president, and revolutionary leader Vaclav Havel with a production of his absurd comedy,The Memorandum, in an English translation by Vera Blackwell. When an office abruptly adopts a new "scientific" language, Ptydepe, a bewildered executive is forced to navigate a labyrinth of red tape in an effort to have an indecipherable memo translated. First performed in Prague under the shadow of Soviet-backed totalitarianism, The Memorandum lampoons the bureaucratic appropriation of language with a satirical spin still representative of today's global office culture.