Press
Press reviews from past Ripe Time productions.
About Haruki Murakami's SLEEP (2017)
"A gorgeous and surreal adaptation of the Haruki Murakami short story!" - New York Times (Critics pick) Read full review
"The production is most successful in its exploration of [the] fear of not meeting one’s responsibilities, fear of what will happen to her if she gives into those pressures and never asks herself what she wants and fear of the consequences if she does. -- Exeunt Magazine Read full review
"SLEEP is a surreal, seamless patchwork of magical moments!" -- Vice (read full preview)
"Each of us makes the decision every day whether or not we choose to be present to the world around us, to get in the ring for another round. As Murakami’s woman (played with remarkable intensity by Jiehae Park) shows us, there is often more spark, more life to be found in the confines of the mind than day-to-day existence and that the breaking down of walls often begins with a journey inward....her gamble, her sacrifice, her wakefulness brings her closer to what the monotony of life is designed to mask: Death, whose cousin we call Sleep." -- Culturebot Read full review
Philadelphia Inquirer preview article!
Philly Metro preview article!
"The production, directed by Rachel Dickstein, is extremely sophisticated — which is part of the allure, with a feast of mood-setting sound from exotic instruments and all manner of lighting effects that make Murakami’s strange inner world palpable....As Woman, Jiehae Park was commanding, confiding, and quietly magnetic in a performance that turned on a dime from incredulity to irony. " - Philadelphia Inquirer
About THE WORLD IS ROUND (2014)
Read the Feature on The World is Round in The New York Times!
"Playful and musical and beautifully presented. Utterly faithful to the text and the spirit of Stein's quicksilver intelligence, it also reveals with simplicity the fable that undergirds the word play, ...the marvelous musical settings and the committed performances show this to be a collaboration in the truest sense between the artists and all of them with Stein."- The Huffington Post
"Excellent....The set by Mimi Lien is a triumph."- The New York Times
"Ripe Time's World does the Mother Goose of Montparnasse proud." - The Village Voice
"... an energetic, breathtaking theatrical performance."- Theater Pizzazz
" This is thought-provoking theatre that sings, dances, and moves with you. The sets, when put into motion, dazzle, and the actors, when put into motion, too, do the same. It’s a must-see for anyone looking to get lost and found, in the very capable hands of an indisputable genius and some spectacular contemporary artistic voices." - Brightest Young Things
"An impressively original work."- Indie Theatre, NY Theater Now
Kristen Sieh as Rose. Photo by Todd France.
About SEPTIMUS AND CLARISSA (2011)
“Thrilling and richly theatrical… Septimus and Clarissa” finds hypnotic poetry in the ordinary, the solemn, the rapturous and just about everything in between.” – The New York Times
“This is the best adaptation of Virginia Woolf that I’ve ever seen on stage or screen. [Septimus and Clarissa is] certain to be on my list of the best shows in this very young season.” - The Huffington Post
“A breathtaking fusion of Woolf’s text, Ellen McLaughlin’s adept adaptation, Gina Leishman’s evocative musical score, Rachel Dickstein’s imaginative direction, as well as well-chosen design elements and choreography created in collaboration with the intense and sensitive ensemble. - Backstage
“Dickstein creates stunningly theatrical moments with her gifted ensemble.” – Time Out
“Splendid and exquisite….Ellen McLaughlin, who adapted Woolf’s novel, and director Rachel Dickstein have superbly captured the impressionism of the novel through fusing Woolf’s indelible prose with music and movement….the play is poignant and immediate and arresting, as if a window had been flung open, revealing the innermost thoughts of passersby on the street.” – nytheatre.com
“Rachel Dickstein’s high-tech adaptation of “Antigone” splits its heroine in two: while one Antigone (Laura Butler) enacts the well-worn events of the tragedy, another (Erica Berg) stands out of time, reflecting on the action and revealing a tinge of regret beneath her iron will . . . Dickstein’s true innovation is in the visual language she creates, a striking blend of movement and video projection that conveys a fragmented yet distinctly ancient world.” – The New Yorker
“Visually stunning ….Invoking the multidisciplinary ritualism of ancient Greek drama, Dickstein combines sculptural dance and live gamelan music with projected video to envelop 3LD’s stage with ravishing imagery and sound.…with a few scraps of fabric, stark lighting and a rigorous ensemble, Dickstein clearly has all she needs to create visual poetry.”—Time Out
“Vibrant… instantly captivates” - Theatremania, full review
“Rachel Dickstein’s … direction, with some astonishing stage pictures that splash your eyes … is startlingly adept at making two millennia worth of history up-to-the-moment trenchant.” – Talkin’ Broadway
“Mesmerizingly lovely.” – The Staten Island Advance, full review.
“A remarkable achievement.” - offoffonline.com
“ A richly sensual and imaginative triptych filled with pleasures for the eyes and ears.” - Joe Dziemianowicz, The Daily News, full review
“Intoxicating! [Director Rachel] Dickstein is clearly a passionate artist and she’s staged this piece with an ecstatic vigor of a woman in love.” -- Kerri Allen, Time Out, full review
“Dickstein weaves a dreamy, enchanting dance-theatre piece. The cast enacts each story with glowing fullness, and Vijay Iyer’s liquid music shimmers throughout.” – Pam Renner, The New Yorker, full review
“Breathtaking and poignant. A theatrical event to be reckoned with.” –Fred Backus nytheatre.com
“The work of an impressive young auteur.” – Andy Propst, backstage.com
Read the feature by Eliza Bent in the Brooklyn Rail!
Ms. Dickstein artfully draws the audience into a mesmerizing mood piece composed of seamless vignettes . . . . ravishing moments . . . stunning images . . . pure visual entertainment . . . . Dickstein is a maverick illusionist.” -Phoebe Hoban, The New York Times, full review
“The ensemble is gorgeously functional as a troupe, enacting Lily’s tragic story in an impressionistic style that finds bold images and expressive movement for the emotions behind the words. Grand and glorious.” – Marilyn Stasio, Variety, full review
“Ravishing” – Rachel Wetzsteon, Village Voice
“A dazzling achievement!” – Backstage
“Beautiful, sophisticated theatre.” – David Delrosso, nytheatre.com, full review
“One of the most visually elegant productions you’ll ever see.” – David Noh, Gay City News
About THE SECRET OF STEEP RAVINES (2002)
“The Secret of Steep Ravines” is a dark, dreamlike return to the spirit of the Great Depression. Not simply a drama, this production incorporates music and imaginative choreography [to create] a multilayered, involving theatrical experience. . . . [A]n evocative visit to a place in the past that exists in the imagination.”
- Robin Eisgrau, offoffoff.com
“[The Secret of Steep Ravines] exploits the theater’s unique capacity to engage reality and fantasy at the same time, to make pretty stage pictures by morphing everyday objects or gestures into abstractions, and to let language slide into movement and back again.”
– Alisa Solomon, The Village Voice
About THE HOLY MOTHER OF HADLEY NEW YORK (2001)
“Riveting. . . . a serious and moving study of the persistent human need to believe in a power greater than us.”—The Westsider“[The finale] creates a delicious tension that engulfs the audience as much as the actors, right until its nearly perfect resolution.” -Theatremania.com