Review: Rubble Women at David Smith Furniture
Rubble Woman, a UMO ensemble production, opened at the David Smith Furniture Warehouse on February 26th. UMO has been making theater for the last 20 years. Their mission of presenting edgy, original and thought provoking art is upheld with this current production. Intiman Theatre’s Associate Director Sheila Daniels is the guest director for Rubble Woman and Martha Enson conceived and wrote this play.
It is a look at women and how the strength to endure, in times of hardship, becomes a basic tool for all. The play unfolds in Berlin, May 1945, after the war has ended and women between the ages of 15 and 65 were conscripted to remove rubble. This is based on a true event and in all 65,000 Rubble Woman worked to rebuild Berlin. The cast of eight women take on the role of a different character from mythology, fairy tales or history. They present their stories of pain, loss of loved ones, rape in song, dance and movement that includes the audience sitting in their seats. But be forewarned, this is not an easy performance to watch. It is edgy, showing the struggle to survive, at all costs. You begin to think about what it must have been like during the fall of the Berlin and the aftermath of what everyone had to endure, the accounts of mass rape and the brutal attacks. So while this is not a light play, by any means, it is well worth the time to go and see.
The warehouse is a excellent showcase for this play; large, bare, and very cold the night I was there; a design that is fit for the stories of hardship that unfold. The cast of actors, all eight, draw you in and make you listen to what they have to convey, with a tight cast and a production that overall is well done.
Well one major item that I feel could improve the production, despite the blanket they give to keep yourself warm, is maybe having a few large portable heaters in the warehouse; but then again the Rubble Women of 1945 were not afforded such luxurious amenities.
Tickets to Rubble Women are $20 and may be purchased at BrownPaperTickets. Performances are February 26 – March 15, 2009, Thursday through Sunday, at David Smith Furniture Warehouse 1107 Harrison St in Seattle. More info about UMO and Rubble Women is available here.
– Ethel W.
