RAINBOW KISS
by Simon Farquhar (Scotland) – U.S. premiere

Directed by Will Frears

With Michael Cates, Robert Hogan, Charlotte Parry, Peter Scanavino
Set Thomas Lynch, Costumes Sarah Beers, Lighting Tyler Micoleau, Sound Drew Levy

March 12 – April 13, 2008
59E59 Theaters, 59 East 59th Street

“Will Frears’ lively direction pulls out all the stops!” – New York Times

“The four characters in this lacerating quadrille are drawn with harrowing insight and occasional heights of near-transcendent poetry. Rainbow Kiss pins you down in a full nelson you can’t, and won’t want to, shake off.” – John Simon, Bloomberg

“Deeply unsettling in its vivid portrait of pathological, obsessive love. Peter Scanavino delivers a memorably intense performance.” – NY Post

“When it comes to studies in romantic obsession, Simon Farquhar's Rainbow Kiss is right up there with Fatal Attraction and Passion. When it comes to studies in severe despair, however, there may be nothing comparable since Roman Polanski's 1965 thriller Repulsion. Frears keeps the actors pumping on all pistons from the first explosive entrance to the concluding flourish. A better performance than Scanavino's is unimaginable.” -- Theatermania

“Brilliant…This is a great production of a harrowing play. Unflinchingly honest. The cast is great. Will Frears' direction is taut, believable, and relentless.” – NYTheatre.com

“The New York premiere of Farquhar's first play (it premiered at London's Royal Court) is strictly for audiences who like visceral stories -- shades of Edward Bond, Mark Ravenhill and films by Quentin Tarantino.” – Curtain Up

“Rainbow Kiss is, hands down, the most jolting play this year. With exceptionally physical direction from a fearless Will Frears and outstanding performances from the cast, most notably the anti-heroic Peter Scanavino, Rainbow Kiss is a must-see play.”– Newtheatercorps

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BAD JAZZ
by Robert Farquhar (England) – U.S. premiere

Directed by Trip Cullman

With Rob Campbell, Colby Chambers, Darren Goldstein, Marin Ireland, Ryan O’Nan, Susie Pourfar

Set & Costumes Dane Laffrey, Lights Ben Stanton, Sound Bart Fasbender

November 4 – November 25, 2007
The Ohio Theatre, 66 Wooster Street

"For some people, watching "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," Andrew Lloyd Webber's biblical musical, is a near-religious experience. Attending an annual production of it somewhere, often around one of the sacred holidays, is a family ritual. Such people should stay far, far away from the Ohio Theater, where unspeakable things are being done to "Any Dream Will Do," the show's signature song, at a particularly raunchy moment of a bawdy play called "Bad Jazz." Is this the most eyeball-searing scene in this production by the Play Company? Hard to say.MR. FARQUHAR HAS A WONDERFUL WAY OF BEING DROLL AND OUTRAGEOUS AT THE SAME TIME. QUITE A RIDE"-New York Times

"A constant surprise. The play's ingredients could make a cynical black comedy, but instead are whipped into a BUOYANT celebration." - Variety

"Absolutely HILARIOUS" - Theatermania.com

"The acting is MAGNIFICENT" - nytheatre.com

"Brutally entertaining. DAZZLING staging and high-energy performances. It's a love letter to theatre disguised as hate mail" - Backstage

"Entertaining and certainly UNFORGETTABLE" - CurtainUp.com