Rave Review!

Barry Blake in the Eureka Times-Standard:

"...this is the best production I have seen in years from the HSU Theatre department. See for yourself."

Last weekend! Thurs, Fri and Sat at 8 (Oct. 27-29) Gist Hall on the HSU campus.

More from Barry Blakes' review:

"Upon entering the theater, the audience is immediately struck by Jody Sekas’s magnificent set. Gist Hall always presents gut-twisting challenges for any scenic designer. For this production the set and the theatre space are uncompromisingly cohesive; they don’t seem to be battling each other. Massive, two-foot thick stone walls reach high into huge, roughhewn timber support; well-trodden stairs without rail climb to the loft. Set props are thoughtfully chosen, primitive, poor; everything breathes 19th century rural and, at the same time, aesthetically and visually supports the stout, solid tradition that will be threatened by change. "

On Bob Wells as Hugh: "...nobody has a better look, or nails his part like Bob Wells as the father of Owen and Manus and Hedge-school master, Hugh.

Damn, he looks great. And it’s not just the muttonchops. He got all of it: the handling of the language, the grace and smoothness that -- suddenly filled with rusty dread -- can barely make it up the stairs, the underplaying, the arrogance, the doubt. Wells finely captures the complexity of Hugh, a man teetering on the rail of ambiguity -- a clown, a sage."

"As Sarah, Emily Blanche gives the tiny but critical role a fine going over and a great look."

"Owen (very convincingly played by Stephen Godwin, who fills Owen with charm and guilt)"

Eden Nelson as Maire: "a strong performance"

"Jimmy Jack, the drunken classics scholar (beautifully played with gusto and fresh physical choices by the bald and astonishing James Floss) "

You have to admire director Bernadette Cheyne for even thinking of performing “Translations.”