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


Details
"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, exemplifying Artaud's Theater of Cruelty. Perfectly lip-synced to prerecorded music and speech, the text is fragmented, but with its own obscure logic. Two male couples (referred to ambiguously as Gordy and Floyd) play tyrants and victims of the ruin they are trapped in. The ensemble, initially Pilgrims and eventually 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
Historical 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

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