Odon von Horvath’s seldom-performed, penultimate play from 1937 is an intriguing hybrid of theatrical genres: part moral fable, part sociopolitical comedy, part noirish thriller. A well-liked, dutiful train station master is momentarily distracted by a young woman and seconds later eighteen people are dead. Standing in the wreckage, he struggles with the overwhelming power of conscience found in the need for judgment and the repercussions felt by his local community.
Having dazzled Armory audiences and critics alike with his mesmerizing revival of THE HAIRY APE in 2017, visionary director Richard Jones returns to take on this gripping commentary about the responsibility to find the accurate truth in a new adaptation by Pulitzer Prize finalist and Obie Award-winning playwright Christopher Shinn. This new production dramatically plays on the interior of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall (reminiscent of the original Grand Central Depot and the great train stations of Europe) as an immersive environment in which the characters become overcome by the burden of guilt. The result is a fresh take on the portrait of a society struggling to take responsibility for its actions in a search for public retribution, themes that still resonate in today’s societal climate.
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