Photo by Apollinaire Theatre. Great squirrels of our time.
Presented by Apollinaire Theatre Company
By Robert Askins
Directed by Brooks Reeves
Movement Choreography by Audrey Johnson
Fight Choreography by Matt Dray
April 18-May 18, 2025
Chelsea Theatre Works
189 Winnisimmet St.
Chelsea, MA
Running Time: estimated 2 hours
Critique by Kitty Drexel
“Artists must let audiences in on the risk of the live performance through intentionally crafting moments in which it is revealed. This is why moments of misfire, moments that shatter the theatrical illusion, feel so resonant: they reveal the risk underpinning a truly live and dynamic experience… These moments don’t have to be literal mistakes… But rather ideas, images or performances that surprise us by upsetting our expectations and enhancing our awareness of events unfolding around us.”
Theatre of the Unimpressed: In Search of Vital Drama by Jordan Tanahill, Coach House Books, Toronto: 2015.
CHELSEA, Mass. — The Squirrels by Robert Askins (best known for Hand to God, a play about a boy and his outspoken hand puppet) is a strange ‘lil beastie of a play. At first glance, it is a departure for Apolliniaire Theatre Company – a company that stages adventurous plays about the human experience. But, upon further investigation, The Squirrels is well within Apollinaire’s bailiwick. Askins’ play is about the failures of our flesh, our need for compassion and warmth, and our propensity for greed when left unchecked. It is also about common street Rodentia.
Apollinaire’s website summarizes The Squirrels thusly: “A bitter struggle for love, power, and the almighty acorn divides a once-peaceful tree in Robert Askins’ dark satire of prejudice and greed… A tragi-comical epic battle for nuts.” It is Watership Down meets King Lear with some Lysistrata thrown in for good measure. It is fluffy, horny, and entirely human. Continue reading
