artytytyty's review against another edition
4.0
"No one owes me anything...
So,
I'm not going to be good anymore,
and I'm not going to be obedient,
and I'm not going to be with men,
and I'm not going to get married,
and I'm not going to have sex,
and I'm not going to be a woman,
and I'm not going to fulfill your expectations of me because I actually,
Especially-
don't owe You anything"
So,
I'm not going to be good anymore,
and I'm not going to be obedient,
and I'm not going to be with men,
and I'm not going to get married,
and I'm not going to have sex,
and I'm not going to be a woman,
and I'm not going to fulfill your expectations of me because I actually,
Especially-
don't owe You anything"
valtimke's review against another edition
4.0
Gods and goats. Goats and gods. What to say about this play other than it was nothing like what I expected? I guess, given the title, I was prepared for more graphic imagery/hangings taking place in the Suicide Forest. Rather, I think the forest was characterized much differently (though of course, still trigger warnings for suicide). Actually, reflecting on the end of this play, I am genuinely heartbroken.
I would really recommend this. I don't know why more people haven't read it other than publicizing being a bitch.
I would really recommend this. I don't know why more people haven't read it other than publicizing being a bitch.
dkrane's review against another edition
5.0
A great, form bending play that explores ugly internalized self loathing in Japanese stereotypes before opening up to explore the performers and attempt to exorcise personal trauma. Would love to see designers take a crack at this nightmare 90’s japan/suicide forest space.
philipkenner's review against another edition
5.0
In Suicide Forest, Haruna Lee creates what they describe as a “Japanese, dark, psychic space.” Inspired by Adrienne Kennedy’s Funnyhouse of a Negro, Suicide Forest tells the fractured story of Azusa, a child’s life-sized doll come into consciousness, and Salaryman, a tortured businessman with no concrete sense of self.
The ending of the play, without giving anything away, is a moving departure from the narrative framework that launches the story. It’s one of those delicious examples of why theater is singular and inimitable as a form.
Simply, this play is gorgeous. It lives elegantly yet harrowingly on the page. Its most recent NYC production, directed by Aya Ogawa, was cut short by COVID-19, but the photos and videos which exist from the show only reify the theatrical feat that is this furious, melancholy piece of writing.
The ending of the play, without giving anything away, is a moving departure from the narrative framework that launches the story. It’s one of those delicious examples of why theater is singular and inimitable as a form.
Simply, this play is gorgeous. It lives elegantly yet harrowingly on the page. Its most recent NYC production, directed by Aya Ogawa, was cut short by COVID-19, but the photos and videos which exist from the show only reify the theatrical feat that is this furious, melancholy piece of writing.
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