The House Theatre of Chicago opens Odradek

Dec 14, 2010
Odradek

The House Theatre of Chicago continues its season with ODRADEK, a world-premiere production written by Brett Neveu, directed by Dexter Bullard, with music by Josh Schmidt. Odradek features House Company Members Joey Steakley and Carolyn Defrin, alongside House new comer David Parks.

Inspired by the Franz Kafka short story: The Cares of a Family Man and the Jeff Wall painting: "Odradek," Brett Neveu's Odradek is part Midwestern Gothic Fairy tale, part Hitchcockian thriller.

Set in a small Iowa town, a boy struggles to come to terms with his parent's divorce and his father's new relationship.

Late one night, after a session with his new doctor, the boy encounters Odradek, a dark, shifting form made of twine and rags who lives under the stairs. As the boy's emotional health rapidly worsens, the father begins a romantic relationship with his child's doctor. Seeking understanding, the boy enters an odd friendship with the monster.

As both relationships become more serious, the boy interprets his world as an echo of twisted words and hallucinated deeds. The boy's thoughts turn to fantasies of radical surgery, dreams of his lost mother, and eerie conversations with Odradek. These cryptic fantasies become the boy's stark reality, and his life twists toward the shadows under the stairs, ultimately creating a choice where the most sinister fairy tale may hold the key to the boy's own final means of salvation.

Tickets are $25 and available at www.thehousetheatre.com or by phone at 773.769.3832, $10 Student and Industry rush tickets available at all performances.