The Killing Room
Teatro Circulo, New York City
Mar 10 - Apr 2, 2011
The Killing Room is a Beckett-style 80-minute dark comedy that envisions a nightmarish world at the very end of humanity through the lives of the two evil tyrants whose violence managed to conquer all.
Everyone is dead. Almost. Ancient, shrunken, and constantly bickering, twin brothers Cy and Ed perpetuate their existence through blood transfusions and organ transplants. As young men, their greed was so insatiable and their capacity for brutality so great, they destroyed an entire civilization. They left nothing behind but the people who care for them: the Doctor, a Nurse, their wives. They still control the universe, or what is left of it, until their long-dead children reappear for revenge… or is it to offer redemption?
The Killing Room is a hilarious and nightmarish journey into a future where children bleed from the face, and two near-disabled old cretins fight off their own guilt and horror with the conviction that they used to destroy the world.
Cy and Ed are the darkly comic, modern counterparts of Atreus and Thyestes, two brothers who fought each other tooth and nail for the throne of Olympia. In the original story, their acts of treachery escalate, creating a mind-boggling and unending cycle of betrayal. In one infamous moment, Atreus kills Thyestes’ sons and serves them to Thyestes for dinner.
“[It] thrills with a wonderfully wicked subtlety... it is this type of work in the downtown theaterscape that leaves audiences clamoring for more new, innovative work. Definitely don’t miss it.”
“Perfectly gruesome and particularly well-produced.”
“Darkly comical and creepy... Keene’s strong poetic language serves to embolden a connection to his Greek inspiration.”
“Treat yourself to this beautiful and visceral knife twist of a play.”
Cast and Crew
Cast: Christopher Baker, Danny Bernardy, Sarah-Jane Casey, David Deblinger, Babis Gousias, Sameerah Luqmaan-Harris, Danielle Heaton, Richard Saudek
Playwright: David Keene
Director: Nick Flint
Stage Manager: Rosy Garner
Dramaturgs: Amanda Culp & Jessica Applebaum
Set Design: James Hunting
Light Design: Mike Riggs
Sound Design: Nathan Leigh
Costume Design: Kay Lee
Assistant Stage Manager: Sanaa Byfiel
