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Theater Company of Lafayette Presents "The Memo," a Comic Sendoff of Clerical Hell
For anyone who has ever gotten a memo thrown onto his or her desk...
LAFAYETTE-Satirical humor about corporate bureaucracy hits a funny bone-thus the popularity of the TV show "The Office," portraying the daily foibles of office employees, and the comic strip "Dilbert," about corporate white-collar micromanagement.
But before those pop culture phenomena came Vaclav Havel's 1965 play "The Memorandum," about an organization in which bureaucracy runs amok.
Theater Company of Lafayette is proud to present "The Memo,"* a new translation by Paul Wilson of Havel's "The Memorandum." Though inspired by the absurdities of life in Eastern Europe under Communism, the play's depiction of nonsensical office politics can be universally appreciated. The introduction of an artificial language, Ptydepe, is supposed to streamline office communications, but only makes things worse, resulting in a complete breakdown of human relationships.
Havel has characterized "The Memo" as "an expressionistic farce," said director Madge Montgomery. "In expressionist plays, a central character, who is a sort of average guy or 'everyman,' gets caught up in events beyond his control. He usually ends up making some sort of self-sacrifice, and, though defeated, gains a spiritual awareness that he previously lacked."
When: Fridays and Saturdays, May 9, 10, 16, 17, 23, 24, 30 and 31, at 7:30 p.m.
Industry night is Monday, May 12, at 7:30 p.m. (all tickets $8). Sunday matinee on May 18 at 2 p.m.
Where: The Mary Miller Theater, 300 E. Simpson St., Lafayette.
Tickets Prices: $15 for adults; $12 for students/seniors; $10 for children.
Reservations: 720-209-2154 or www.tclstage.org. Online discounts available.
Playwright Vaclav Havel was president of Czechoslovakia from 1989-1992 and the first president of the Czech Republic from 1993-2003. "The Memorandum" made its American debut in 1968 at the Shakespeare Festival's Public Theatre, where it won an Obie Award for best foreign play. "The Memorandum" was produced in London in 1977 and has been revived regularly around the world.
* "The Memo" premiered in 2006 at the Havel Festival in New York City. TCL presents the second U.S. production of Wilson's translation.
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