AURORA THEATRE IN THE NEWS

Fat Pig

“This is LaBute at the best of his bad-boy sensitive mode. A provocative hit in New York in 2004... Barbara Damashek's Aurora staging is even richer, funnier and more disturbing. Damashek coaxes revelatory performances from a first-rate cast as she builds the action to an understated but affecting climax.”
- Robert Hurwitt, SF Chronicle (read complete review)

“In "Fat Pig," the theatrical provocateur [Neil LaBute] marries his lacerating cynicism about American culture with a genuine love for his characters that's hard to resist. It is a delicious exploration of sex, love and body image that makes us swoon. Barbara Damashek's acute staging of the play…keeps us perpetually off-balance, squirming amid the giggles.”
- Karen D'Souza, Contra Costa Times, San Jose Mercury News (read complete review)

“With a title like Fat Pig, you might expect a play about women's bodies and body anxiety...yet Fat Pig offers a surprising twist on the theme...”
- Rachel Swan, East Bay Express (read complete review)

“The laughs are abundant...The play is performed in one 100-minute act by a remarkably talented cast... I recommend it highly. ”
- Jerry Friedman, KGO Radio (read complete review)

“... so good it is almost painful to watch. It is, in short, the type of theater we need to be seeing.”
- Arielle Little, The Daily Californian (read complete review)

“Fat Pig is a beautifully written and emotionally powerful drama”
- George Heymont, My Cultural Landscape (read complete review)

“With brilliant direction by Barbara Damashek and powerful performances by its four-member cast, the Aurora Theatre Company’s compelling production of “Fat Pig” makes for vital theater.”
- Stephanie Wright Hession, Bay Area Arts Review (read complete review)

“...satirical flair and insight, animated by a faultless ensemble directed with snap and fire by Barbara Damashek.”
- Robert Avila, SF Bay Guardian (read complete review)

“a captivating take on self-image in America”
- Clinton Stark, StarkSilverCreek (read complete review)

“an impressively unified show...the actors never let their characters' shortcomings - be they personally or socially constructed - negate human dignity”
- Jonathan Kiefer, SF Weekly (read complete review)

“Playwright Neil LaBute makes some salient points about social norms and body weight in "Fat Pig," being given a sharp production by Aurora Theatre Company.”
- Judy Richter, Aisle Say (read complete review)

Feature Articles

“"One of his themes is dissecting the cruelty of humans to one another," she said. "It’s what theater is there for-- to hold a mirror up to nature. It’s only if we see what we are actually capable of that we can change."”
- Emily Wilson, Examiner.com (read complete article)

“LaBute's dark, funny and deeply moving tale about the effect of social norms and peer pressure on an ordinary guy's budding romance with a plus-sized woman is obviously interesting to others as well. Its premiere was a controversial hit in New York. Aurora has had to extend "Fat Pig" (through Dec. 13) to accommodate the demand for tickets.”
- Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle (read complete article)

“The fact that anything can kind of shake us and stir us and make us say, ‘wait, wait, I know but … no, you know!’ I think that’s exactly what this play strives to do. The story is a reality for so many people, but it’s a heightened reality in the play and that’s the point.”
- Sandra Varner, Globe Newspapers (read complete article)

“"It's almost surprising to think that people could still be shocked," director Barbara Damashek muses about reactions to Neil LaBute's "Fat Pig," which she has staged for Aurora Theatre. "It's not like Lenny Bruce. We're not shocked by language anymore. But people are shocked into seeing themselves in the very particular landscape he's carved out. That whole gender relationship is uncomfortable and that's very interesting to me."”
- Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Chronicle (read complete article)