The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart presented by The Shakespeare Theatre Company at Bier Baron Tavern

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart

Bier Baron Tavern
1523 22nd Street NW Washington

Inspired by the Border Ballads of Scotland, the play follows an academic on her supernatural and affirming Midwinter’s Eve journey through a world of Scottish nostalgia. One wintry morning Prudencia Hart, an uptight scholar, sets off to attend a conference in Kelso, in the Scottish Borders, and as the snow begins to fall, little does she know who or what awaits her there. Previously performed for sold-out audiences, The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart stormed venues throughout Scotland to become the hit of the 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Presented by The Shakespeare Theatre Company

Thru - Dec 9, 2012

Price: $55

Show Type: Drama

Running Time: 2 hrs,35 mins with 1 intermission

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The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart Reviews

Average Rating based on 5 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

Washington Post - Highly Recommended

"...The production is buoyed by the resourcefulness of director Wils Wilson, who makes economical, and sometimes even hauntingly effective, use of limited space and design elements: the image of a spectral figure in the snow, embodied entrancingly by Annie Grace, is achieved with a white bathrobe and a flashlight. The ensemble actors, rounded out by Andy Clark, as Prudencia's preening, academic nemesis, bring a satisfying brio to the play's outrageous events."

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- Peter Marks,

DC Theater Arts - Highly Recommended

"...The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart captivates the audience with its wildly folkish nature, engaging them in instances of the show as it unfolds around them. The five performers weave throughout the pub room space, up on tables, over the counter ledges and all around the room, as if the pub itself were where the story unfolded. This element of in-your-face performance invites the audience in the most intimate sense right into the action of the story."

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- Amanda Gunther

Washingtonian - Highly Recommended

"... Writer David Greig and director Wils Wilson found inspiration for the show, a 2011 Edinburgh Festival Fringe hit, in the tradition of folk songs and stories known collectively as the Border Ballads, from the region between Scotland and England. Prudencia cleverly weaves together handed-down mythical narratives, rustic, beautiful harmonies and verse, and the jovial liveliness of an evening spent with old friends at the corner watering hole (beers in hand and all). What begins as a banal modern-day academic conference extended by a snowstorm for uptight folklore scholar Prudencia Hart (a bright-eyed Melody Grove) evolves into a sometimes supernatural journey that ultimately leads to hell, romance, and finding herself."

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- Gwendolyn Purdom

BrightestYoungThings - Recommended

"... The long sequence in hell iswhere The StrangeUndoing of Prudencia Hart findsits soul. Satanis not evilbut bored,and wantsPru to share hismisery. Over severalmillennia, her damnation turns into a deliberate battle of wills. There isroom for comedy – the second act is a riff on Groundhog Day – yet Greig’ssubject cuts deep. He considers how we interact with culture, and for what reasons(Pru has accessto all of literature, but no one with whom to discuss it). She nearly loses her mind, at least untilshe develops the most unlikely case of Stockholm Syndrome. Still,their relationship isnot so simple and the way they influence is each other (or not) isweirdly touching. Satandoes not undo Prudencia, exactly, and the sneaky thing about the writing ishow her undoingis actually a positive."

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DCTheatreScene - Highly Recommended

Jean-Paul Sartre said that Hell was other people. He didn’t know the half of it. For what Hell could be fresher than a pub full of academics with the teensy-weensy specialty of Scottish border ballads, locked in on a snowy evening?

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- Tim Treanor

The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart presented by The Shakespeare Theatre Company at Bier Baron Tavern