Review: THE VICTIM at Shakespeare & Company

Shakespeare & Company (S&Co.) opens Season 2025 with the World Premiere of THE VICTIM by Lawrence Goodman, directed by Daniel Gidron.

Through interconnected monologues, three women — a doctor, a home healthcare aide, and a Holocaust survivor — present their claim to be the true victims of injustice. Throughout the play, several uncomfortable questions are raised: has DEI gone too far? How do you rank whose oppression and suffering matter most? How is the memory of the Holocaust used and abused? Can we ever hope to overcome our differences?

“I wondered why when one group calls themselves victims, other groups feel their victimhood status is threatened,” Playwright, Lawrence Goodman said. “Asserting victimhood endows you with a moral status; others somehow feel like you are encroaching on their moral high ground.”  Also, that the play grew from thinking about victimhood at a time when Americans can’t seem to agree on what the word ‘victim’ means.  His work is strong, powerful, and very well balanced.  Allowing audience members, regardless of background and personal experience, to connect, relate, and empathize with the characters as well as their perspectives.  It points out that despite apparent differences, we are all very much alike, and that while we may not on the surface, find understanding - patience, tolerance, and knowledge yield connection.

The cast includes Stephanie Clayman as Daphne, a successful New York doctor whose racial diversity training goes wrong; Yvette King as Maria, a health aide grappling with racism during the COVID-19 pandemic; and Annette Miller as Ruth, a Holocaust survivor facing horror and finding her way back to love and healing.  Miller is well known for work on and off Broadway, in films including 2021’s Don’t Look Up, as well as her long and lauded 25 seasons with S&Co.  Clayman’s performance is equally strong and dynamic.  Seamlessly displaying a range of emotions, often very much in conflict given the various hats she, and many of us, wear daily.   While King is both younger and a newcomer to S&Co., she demonstrates ample skill and talent.  I can’t identify precisely why, I found myself drawing comparisons to Justina Machado, currently appearing in Real Women Have Curves on Broadway.

With Set Design by John Musall, Lighting Design by Erika Johnson, Costume Design by Govane Lohbauer, Sound Design by Amy Altadonna, and Stage Management by Josh Rodrigues assisted by Kulia McLaughlin THE VICTIM achieves a level of brilliance wherein the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.  While the script, direction, cast and creatives are near flawless in their own right, this production is topical, relevant, emotional, and well worth experiencing.