The Friends discuss two audio plays: Richard II by Shakespeare and Julia Pastrana by Shaun Prendergast. Richard II was presented by the Public Theater and WNYC, and starred André Holland as the king and Miriam A. Hyman as his foe Henry Bolingbroke. It's still available to download. Julia Pastrana is produced by Amphibian Stage Co. and is about the ugliest woman in the world. It's based on a true story and is meant to be listened to in the dark. How immersive! The Friends discussed what worked about the productions, does race matter when it's radio and how audio plays can give you the ASMR tingles.
This week's guest is playwright Clare Barron, who was a Pulitzer Prize finalist for drama for her play Dance Nation. Barron just wrote a new short play called What This Will Be Like When It's Over, for a new theater journal called The Flashpaper. It's about dating during the pandemic. She and the Friends got into a deep discussion about sex and dating, and how Barron is able to get ultra-personal in her plays without feeling self-conscious. Also, she talked about that time she had sex onstage.
There's some very frank talk of sex, with some expletives thrown in, so please if listen on your headphones if these subjects are sensitive to you or anyone around you.
Here are links to things the Friends talked about in this episode.
- Free Shakespeare on the Radio: Richard II
- Julia Pastrana at Amphibian Stage Co. (available through July 30)
- A review of I'll Never Love Again by Clare Barron
- The Flashpaper: a new theater journal featuring writings from theater artists, including Clare Barron
- The script for Dance Nation by Clare Barron
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