Muzzled by Reza Shirmarz
Produced as a part Theatre of the Absurd Theatre Gwydion Theatre & Chopin Theatre (May 2025) The 1st Annual Theater of the Absurd Festival at Chicago’s renowned Chopin Theatre (May 2–25, 2025) brought together eight darkly comedic one-act plays that probe authority, meaning, and the absurdity of power. Presented Fridays and Saturdays in rotating programs and culminating Sundays with discussions and community meals, the festival featured canonical works by Edward Albee, Sam Shephard, Harold Pinter, Israel Horovitz, Samuel Beckett, Slawomir Mrozek and Vaclav Havel , alongside a powerful Beckett–Havel–Shirmarz triptych: Catastrophe , The Mistake , and Muzzled . Directed by leading Chicago and university figures, the lineup wove a compelling narrative around oppression and resistance, merging theatrical rigor, intellectual engagement, and communal spirit. Brian Shaw (PLAYWRIGHT) & Julie Hunicutt (ACTRESS) A post-Beckettian descent into...