Penetrator

Working Man’s Clothes Productions (Winner of 6 2006 NY Innovative Theater Awards for To Nineveh: A Modern Miracle Play) presents the NY Premiere of Anthony Neilson’s Penetrator. Jeremy Torres directs, and the production features an original score by Adam Smith.

Playstation, pornography and drug-use are the modus-operandi for two struggling urban roommates, Max and Alan, stereotypes of 20-something American bachelors, whose discussions revolve around pop culture, girls and the ongoing war as seen on TV. When their old friend Woody arrives unexpectedly at their doorstep with nowhere to sleep, their world is turned on its head as they learn that Woody has abandoned his duties as a soldier in Iraq. Max and Alan’s friendship is put to the test as they sort out the bizarre stories of Woody’s experiences with violent rape and boyhood nostalgia.

Written in response to the 1991 Gulf War, Penetrator is a product of the exciting British In-Yer-Face Theatre revolution. In-yer-face theatre shocks audiences by the extremism of its language and images, unsettles them by its emotional frankness and disturbs them by its acute questioning of moral norms. This updated take on Neilson’s 1993 male-psyche-in-crisis play explores the razor-thin lines between friendship and violence, loyalty and sexuality, aggression and humor.