Iron
by Rona Munro
direction: Gia Forakis
set design: Pete Rush
costume design: Hannah Davis
lighting design: Adrianna Durantt
composer: John Dresher
sound design: John Dresher
production photographs: Pete Rush
performers: Rosemary Smith*, Katrina Foy, Jessica Flood*, Eric Brooks*
stage manager: Melissa Thompson
The Kitchen Theatre Company
Ithaca, NY USA
April 2005
www.kitchentheatre.org
The Ithaca Times Review:
Review: DoublePlay
By Barbara Adams
The Kitchen Theatre Company's (KTC) risk-taking and excellence continue unabated with the fifth show in a stellar season of regional and world premieres. Tightly directed by Gia Forakis, Iron, British playwright Rona Munro's 2002 psychological drama set in a women's maximum-security prison in Scotland, delivers a rapid double punch - to the stomach and the heart.
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The Ithaca Journal Review:
Review: Iron
By David Cameron
The small cast delivers with full force, powered by the captivating performance of Rosemary Smith as Fay. Without stumbling over the heavy Scottish accent, Smith steps into a character who's like a punching bag that's learning how to punch back. [SNIP] This play is a thrilling find for the Kitchen, and is sure to inspire much discussion in the lobby after each show.
Syracuse New Times Review:
Review: Iron
By James MacKillop
The caged Fay is playwright Munro's greatest creation, a constant rebuff to our expectations. She's also a whoppingly juicy role that only a professional should undertake. Ithaca-area Equity player Rosemary Smith, memorable as Maria Callas in Kitchen's October 2001 triumph Master Class, knows all the character's colors as well as where her secret buttons are hidden. Her Fay is both vulnerable and devious. Her abrupt mood shifts make one wonder whether she is schizophrenic or merely bipolar. Smith and director Gia Forakis tease our speculation when Fay jerks her head to one side and changes mood within a sentence. But the insanity defense is too pat, as we and Josie keep struggling to find out what made the mother a killer. [SNIP] Munro's powerful, intimate drama Iron wowed audiences at the Manhattan Theatre Club but won't likely be seen elsewhere upstate. This is why, more than ever, people in Syracuse are paying attention to Ithaca's Kitchen Theatre Company.
The Ithacan Review:
Review: Iron
By Megan Pietroforte
Iron succeeds in undermining the most fundamental stereotypes about prison life and the people it affects. Through deeply developed characterizations and finely-nuanced performances, the experiences, emotions and relationships that hold people together, and sometimes break them apart, are skillfully and compassionately depicted.
