Aaron Hursh & Mike Wasko in The Pillowman. Photo by Michael Sider.

The Pillowman opened two weeks ago at the Jericho Arts Center, and the feedback has been great.  This post is being updated daily with new feedback. Here’s just some of what people are saying:

THE GOOD:

“#JerichoArtsCentre to the cast of Pillowman thank you for a deeply disturbing evening.” – @Urbanpienews on Twitter

“I must admit I loved @ryanbeil in The Pillowman last night at the Jericho Arts Centre in #Vancouver. Go see it! Note, disturbing content…” – @CynnamonS on Twitter

“Amazing production of The Pillowman at Jericho Arts Center starring @ryanbeil, it’s running until the 6th, go check it out” – @SheilaMEdmonds on Twitter

“Saskatchewan’s loss is Vancouver’s gain as Aaron Hursh gives a superb performance in the Wild Geese Equity Coop production of The Pillowman.” – @GayVancouver on Twitter

“Fantastic show! Can’t stop thinking about it, actually…” – Lisa Oppenheim on Facebook

“Just saw THE PILLOWMAN by Martin McDonagh – Presented by Wild Geese Equity Co-Op – If you want good theatre that gives you ‘bang’ for your buck (tee hee), go see it. Wonderful performances and realization of a disturbingly engaging play. Have a fantastic opening!” – Daniel Deorksen on Facebook

“Both Hursh and Biel provide powerful performances with a palpable connection as siblings that have endured so much.  Hursh was mesmerizing and I found myself on the edge of my seat a number of times especially in his scenes reading Katurian’s stories.  Biel’s characterization of the challenged brother is done without affectation that could so easily have drifted in for someone playing a mentally challenged character; it is played simply, straightforward and with an intense innocence that I found it as frightening as any axe wielding murderer.  Ashley O’Connell was particularly successful in taking his role of good cop Tupolski beyond a simple stereotype and while Mike Wasko as his sidekick seemed to struggle a little, they both worked well as a team….Set designer Naomi Sider works in perfect tandem with lighting designer Darren Boquist bringing a childlike nightmarish quality to Katurian’s horrid tales and to the stark realities of the regime’s interrogation room, complete with dried blood on the floors.” – Mark Robins, GayVancouver.net (Read the whole review!)

“Just saw “Pillowman” at Jericho Arts Centre. Very funny, very dark comedy. Really very dark comedy.” – @VanRealDeal on Twitter

“The scenes of Katurian interacting with his brother  were beautifully performed. Beil captured the innocence of a tortured soul who did not understand the reality of what he was doing.  Hursh succeeded in portraying the anguished conflict between  his love for his brother  and his horror of what transpired, all the while questioning his own culpability in the horrific events…. This is a dark and complex play but  the team at Wild Geese Equity Co-op did credit to McDonagh’s text. It is well worth seeing.” – Gillian Lockitch, Review from the House (read the whole review!)

“There is real chemistry between Ryan Beil and Aaron Hursh. Their comic timing and dramatic intensity are alone enough to make this a compelling play to see. The audience on opening night shared uncomfortable laughter and uneasy tension as these two strong actors brought an almost effortless virtuosity to their roles. The acting of both pairs of male leads is superb, and the others are capable in their rather limited roles. What lies beneath this is the strong script, with its underlying theme of purposeless narrative. ” – Roger Wayne Eberle, Review Vancouver (read the whole review!)

“Really enjoyed the Pillowman at JAC last nite. Good good good theatre.” – @courtneyvl on twitter

“Has a new script to add to her favourites. Please go see THE PILLOWMAN by Martin McDonagh – Presented by Wild Geese Equity Co-Op! Such a good show.” – Alison Chisholm on Facebook

“The Pillowman is a jagged, funny, scary play, and Stephen Drover, directing for Wild Geese Equity Co-op, mines it for all its black comedy creepiness, mingling murder and torture with mirth….O’Connell and Wasko—the good cop, bad cop combo—evoke many similar TV scenes featuring a twisted, unpredictable duo. Wasko is big, tall and intimidating; O’Connell, despite the delightful Irish accent, is an even nastier piece of work with tightly controlled menace lurking under a jocular façade.” – Jo Leddingham, Vancouver Courier (Read the whole review, but beware spoilers!)

“Director Stephen Drover knows exactly how to pace his show. An absolute blur of words demands absolute attention from the cast, and the blistering pace of this production is as exciting as the wonderful weirdness of its text…Hursh has to carry the whole show and does so beautifully, by never faltering from a clear understanding of his character’s Kafkaesque confusion and hilariously overblown sense of self. Add in Ryan Beil as the brother and we’re given scenes so beautifully timed that the laughs keep coming even as we wince at the gory stories on offer.  The cops are played by Ashley O’Connell (good) and Mike Wasko (bad) — with Wasko good and O’Connell great at finding the same vicious comedic magic as Hursh and Beil. Born in Dublin, O’Connell keeps his Irish accent in check but gives full flower to an understanding of McDonagh’s absurdist intent, making his detective a dangerous stew of dysfunction.” – Peter Birnie, Vancouver Sun (Read the whole thing!)

“Hursh, an attractive and sometimes powerful young actor new to Vancouver, carries much of the play as Katurian. He’s very good, especially in one terrific scene with Michael, where the brilliant Ryan Beil walks a fine line between totally creepy and hilarious….This is a provocative, entertaining and well executed show but it doesn’t convince me that The Pillowman is McDonagh’s best or most profound work.” – Jerry Wasserman, Vancouverplays.com (read it all!)

“The Pillowman was awesome!! Oh wow. And the cast was really funny! Love #VancouverTheatre ” – @Keslergirl on Twitter

“You must see The Pillowman at The Jericho Arts Centre, this is their last week. Riveting performances from all players. Difficult subject matter tastefully explored to provoke necessary continuous dialogue on the question of responsibility, legality and compassion.” – Tom Picket on Facebook

THE NOT-SO-GOOD:

“Under Stephen Drover’s direction, the opening exchanges between Katurian (Aaron Hursh), good cop Tupolski (Ashley O’Connell), and bad cop Ariel (Mike Wasko) are delivered at such an artificially furious pace that they devolve into a stylistic exercise and lose all meaning. Hursh’s Katurian is bland, and Wasko’s Ariel is one-note loud in the early going. By far the best performance of the evening belongs to Ryan Beil, who plays Michal with his trademark sincerity and eccentric comic rhythms.  Darren Boquist’s lighting is sculptural. It’s gorgeous.  In some ways, the surfaces of this evening are glossy, but its interior is dull. I wasn’t outraged by The Pillowman; I was put off—and bored.” – Colin Thomas, The Georgia Straight (Go ahead, read the whole thing!)