For starters, the set — layers of clutter and grime beneath a slanted skylight (designer, Eileen Diss) — is auspicious. Tom Lishman’s surround-sound effects, of thunderous passing underground trains and cooing pigeons, are equally carefully considered. The stage is awash in an appropriately dismal gray light (by Colin Grenfell). Read More

When the American Conservatory Theater curtain rises to reveal the slightly angled set — a dimly lit, cavernous room, so dingy you can almost smell the mildew; an imposing staircase leading to unimaginable activities above — you know you’re in vintage Pinterland, that slightly seedy place where human relationships are glimpsed in midstream, unpredictable and ominous. Read More