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BAAL
Yale School of Drama
University Theater

Baal by Bertolt Brecht
October 29-November 3, 2007

Raw, poetic, and angry, Brecht's Baal exploded onto the theatrical scene almost a hundred years ago, awakening a generation numbed by war and desperate to be heard. Baal thrusts us into a pansexual odyssey that subverts both societal and theatrical expectation. The first time I read this play I felt I had been punched in the gut. Baal's lyricism attracts me, while the crassness and vulgarity if his actions repel me. He embodies the conflict between our most creative and destructive human urges. Ball is fearless in a fearful world, heedlessly demolishing social rule along his journey and urging us to do the same: is he tempting us toward greater freedom? Or the abyss? --Snehal Desai