Mindgame

by Anthony Horowitz

Soho Playhouse

directed by Ken Russell

costumes by Melissa Bruning, lighting by Jason Lyons, sound by Bernard Fox

2008

Top of Play

Lee Godart & Keith Carradine

Middle of Show

Lee Godart & Keith Carradine

End of Show

Lee Godart, Kathleen McNenny, Keith Carradine

"Once the cat-and-mouse game gets under way in earnest, subtle transformations begin to take place on Beowulf Boritt's funhouse set. Almost imperceptibly, Dr. Farquhar's book-lined study begins to look less cozy and more institutional. The protean set is designed, of course, to illustrate the scribe's central thesis that appearances are deceptive and that even the most rational mind can be clouded by lies, trickery, misdirection and its own preconceived notions about reality". ~Marilyn Stasio, Variety

"One of the play's more intriguing features is its contracting set, a cozy office designed by Beowulf Boritt. Without giving too much away, let's just say that it has more theatrical life -- and movement -- than anything else on stage." ~Michael Kuchwara, Associated Press

"That things are going to go seriously awry is evident by such ominous elements as the skeleton in the doctor's office, the doorway that keeps mysteriously transforming into a cupboard. Yes, nothing - and no one - is quite what it seems, with one bizarro twist after one another delivered to dizzying effect. And, if you pay close attention, you'll notice that even your perception of the setting can't quite be trusted." ~Frank Scheck, NY Post

"Played on Beowulf Boritt's astounding set, this is one production in which every second really does count. Whisper to your neighbor, glance down at your program, or merely let your mind wander, and you might not recognize the lay of the stage when you return your focus to it. And catching up again will not be easy. Russell and Boritt, have fashioned the most exacting production that any play (and most any musical) in New York has seen in years. The walls, the floor, the doors, and even the furniture are subject to their establisher's faintest whims, with new shocks materializing (and dissolving) at a rate that threatens to violate several key laws of physics." ~Matthew Murray, Talkin' Broadway

"Beowulf Boritt's set design undergoes both subtle and not so subtle changes over the course of the two-act work that successfully plays with the audience's perceptions of what is meant to be 'real' and what is not." ~Dan Bacalzo, Theatremania

"Consider it a tribute to set designer Beowulf Boritt that I spent five minutes staring at his set for Mindgame while ignoring the wonderful Keith Carradine. Already slightly off-kilter from the story about an insane asylum (and Carradine's ferocious performance as Dr. Farquhar), I spent far too much time examining the doctor's office on stage in an effort to convince myself that I wasn't losing my marbles, too. Because that's the affect that Anthony Horowitz's new play will have on you. Just when you feel comfortably blasé about what's happened in the first act thanks to infamous film director Ken Russell's sneaky direction, Horowitz, Boritt and Russell all conspire to pull the rug out from under you in the second act." ~Mark Peikert , NY Press