The House of Yes
Cast size: 5 (3W, 2M)
"In Wendy MacLeod's obsidian-black comedy, The Pascals, for whom the clock stopped with the Kennedy assasination, are shut in as a Thankgiving hurricane swirls outside. Arriving ahead of the storm's eye are Jackie-O's twin brother, Marty and his fiancé Lesly. The obsessive Jackie is keen to renew her long-running incestuous affair with Marty, which is fine by the mother, who's still lamenting her husband's desertion, and by puppyish younger brother Anthony who immediately desires Lesly. The resulting battle over Marty becomes something of a class struggle between the Pascals' poetic insanity and Lesly's plebian pragmatism." --Steven Mikulan, LA Weekly
Premiered at: The Magic Theater (1990)
Directed by: Andrew Doe
Reviews:
"...A fascinating blend of frivolous family politics and menacing political allegory....It is wickedly funny, disturbing and vividly written....MacLeod writes funny, frightening dialogue, and she touches the nerve of our cozy, vicarious involvement with acts of public violence" --San Francisco Chronicle
"Gripping, funny and worth its reputation." --Time Out London
"MacLeod gets us there with a fertile and original screwball voice that puts her in a league with such erudite young satirists of America's privileged class as Nicky Silver and Richard Greenberg." --Newsday
Press bibliography
Brantley, Ben. "A Family Worth Fleeing." The New York Times 19 January 1990.
De Jongh, Nicholas. "Family fantasy." London Evening Standard 5 April 1993.
Drake, Sylvie. "Camelot-Gone-Mad in 'House of Yes'." Los Angeles Times 25 October 1990.
Gallo, Clifford. "Perversity Rules The House of Yes." Los Angeles READER 2 November 1990.
Green, Judith. "'House of Yes' skewers hero-worship." San Francisco Chronicle 23 April 1990.
Hemming, Sarah. "Head full of glue." London Independent April 1993.
Ingram, Bruce. "'House of Yes' puts out some creepy comedy." Chicago Sun-Times 20 December 1991.
Kingston, Jeremy. "A family that flips together, grips together. London Times April 1993.
Mikulan, Steven. "Family Affairs: Shattering houses of Yes and Glass." LA Weekly 16 November 1990.
Perry, David. "Would-be Kennedys." Bay Area Reporter 26 April 1990.
Rosenberg, Scott. "There's nothing sacred in 'The House of Yes'." San Francisco Examiner 5 April 1990.
Stone, Laurie. "Twins Speak." Village Voice 1 February 1995.
Stuart, Jan. "Ritualistic Fantasies in a Pink Pillbox Hat." New York Newsday 17 January 1995.
Winn, Steven. "Wicked Take on Kennedy's Killing." San Francisco Chronicle 6 April 1990.