Flux Theatre Ensemble

Last Thursday the 6th Heather and I went to check out The Shalimar's latest offering, a collection of short plays called You People. We'd been smitten by The Shailmar's whale song contribution to the New York Theatre Review fundraiser, and wanted to see more of their work.

You People is a series of short plays wrestling with the theme of "The Other" in America, with songs by Tommy Smith and Davide Berardi. While I usually dislike short plays based on my bizarre affection for very long plays, both Heather and I enjoyed the great execution of these whimsical pieces.

Highlights included Michael John Garces Tostitos, a suddenly violent, suddenly comic look at disaffected kids given kinetic life by director May Adrales; and Hilly Hicks Jr.'s Blanco, a comic fantasia on longing centered by a radiant performance by Nina Freeman. There was also a charming song about plankton, furthering the whale theme of NYTR.

We also bumped into Alfredo Narciso, who this year acted in our staged reading of Ocatvio Solis' Dreamlandia and was excellent in NYTW's Misanthrope.

After that show, Shalimar featured Hamlet, the drinking game, which seemed to unite two of the passions of my life, but with too much to do the next day, I snuck away. Next up for Shalimar is an 80's hair band theme night of Tommy Smith's songs, which, whether or not they deal with whale or plankton, I very much hope to see.