Soundslides: Curtain Call: The Pillowman

 by Bettina Hansen
 published on Friday, April 11, 2008

Bettina Hansen / THE STATE PRESS

Launch soundslides

The ASU production of dark comedy The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh opened Friday at the Prism Theatre and runs through April 17. The plot follows Katurian, an author of gruesome children's tales, through his police interrogation for several bizarre murders committed in the style of his stories.

Without apologies, Katurian cares far more about the preservation of his life's work than the lives of himself or his family. For some on the cast and crew, this production is the culmination of their lives' work so far - as college students.

Director and theatre senior Rachel Kenton has dreamt of producing The Pillowman for almost two years. On the cusp of her graduation, she finds herself leading eight actors who serve as the canvas for her final undergraduate masterpiece.

Kenton has drawn in a group of actors and crew diverse in their experience, yet united in their unabashed devotion to the final product. Underneath all of the fake blood, guns, knives, and violence, lies something that every senior can relate to: the definition of ourselves through the work that we leave behind.