Reza Abdoh’s QUOTATIONS FROM A RUINED CITY (1993)

"On a raised stage with a white picket fence, barbed wire and an avalanche of props, eight men and two women enact fast-paced, densely-packed, intricately staged overlapping scenes, tableaux and dances. Two male couples play the tyrants, and victims, of the ruin. The ensemble, initially Pilgrims and then Boy Scouts, throw themselves into this Hobbesian nightmare that is equal parts grim and campy."

This is an online movie and play discussion group. READING THE PLAY IS OPTIONAL, although doing so will increase your appreciation for the film and its theatrical roots.

The performance:

QUOTATIONS FROM A RUINED CITY: A Work in Progress
1993 performance recording
Directed by Reza Abdoh
Text by Reza Abdoh and Salar Abdoh
1 hour 25 mins.
www.rezaabdoh.com/quotations-from-a-ruined-city-la or vimeo.com/156807956?fl=pl&fe=vl

Theater history context:

ANTONIN ARTAUD AND THE THEATER OF CRUELTY: CRASH COURSE THEATER #43 (11 mins.): youtu.be/DK_vZuLYHcw?si=8tk6VqP1AW_fW6s3

The text:

QUOTATIONS FROM A RUINED CITY
Written by Reza Abdoh and Salar Abdoh
First performed in 1993
30 pages: drive.google.com/file/d/1hbWKQB2hLiUhW_tbUyTssvOic21Ifjrr/view?usp=sharing

Of Interest:

3 min. trailer for 2019 documentary "REZA ABDOH-THEATRE VISIONARY": vimeo.com/ondemand/rezaabdoh?fl=pl&fe=vl

Of interest:

John Bell, "AIDS AND AVANTGARDE CLASSICISM: Reza Abdoh's 'Quotations from a Ruined City'" (1995): drive.google.com/file/d/1v1baw4O0urN8RxuytWNg-YY4fK0S85oh/view?usp=drivesdk