Review: Fragments/Chicago Shakespeare Theater

RECOMMENDED

Five fantastic, if somewhat overlooked, short plays by Samuel Beckett are presented by famed director Peter Brooks this week at Chicago Shakespeare Theater. The stark precision of Brooks’ “Fragments”—minimal lighting and sparse set and prop pieces, with a running time of just near sixty-five minutes—keeps Beckett’s text front and center, brilliantly performed by three renowned actors— Marcello Magni, Kathryn Hunter and Jos Houben—perhaps best known for their associations with the provocative European company Theatre de la Complicite. This is Beckett as one dreams of seeing it—razor sharp, heartbreaking and delightfully funny at every turn. Hunter’s “Rockaby” in particular is exquisitely devastating. With it’s brief two-week run coming to a close on Saturday evening, time is running out to catch this must-see. (Valerie Jean Johnson)

At the Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand, (312)595-5600. This production is now closed.

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