Wallace Shawn Tickets

The show was so poor that I actually fell asleep. Wallace Shawn reading essays did not make for an engrossing evening.

As Mr Shawn points out at the onset of his talk, the audience had come because they had known other of his works. My respect for his Talks with Andre were the reason I purchased tickets for this event. However, I was greatly disappointed in Mr Shawn inability to produce a cohesive, objective political perspective. Frankly, his statements on Obama left me wondering how such a talented intellectual and artist could be so misguided and limited in his political views and it was embarrassing to see such a brilliant, talented individual in his areas of expertise, use this forum to demonstrate his remarkable ignorance of political processes and even to present some statements which seemed even bizarre. His readings were often entertaining, but his political commentary reaffirmed how many brilliant individual in one arena of human pursuit can be so ignorant about another. He should leave political satire to the likes of Jon Stewart or Bill Maher.

boring nocontinuity, just a guy reading random stuff

I was expecting something magical, subtle, wonderful, hilarious. I guess I expected too much. I've admired Wallace Shawn's work as a screenwriter (My Dinner with Andre, The Designated Mourner), actor and essayist. What he chose to read on this occasion were parts of two hit-you-over-the-head essays, an excerpt from a friend's middling short story, an excerpt from a long John Ashberry poem. All tied together, sort of, with long apparently improv verbal meanders. A truly mediocre evening.

Very slow and low key. I wound up falling asleep. I think Wallace Shawn is a great writer but he spent much of his time reading other people's works?

Wallace Shawn was neither interesting nor provoctive in his appearance at Royce Hall. In an evening of readings and commentary, he spent most of his time offering up political cliche to a college audience. While bemoaning the fact that so many in the US seem to vote contrary to their real interests, instead of investigating the "why" of that idea, he instead shook his finger at the western society for exploiting everyone else and turning the world against is. In other words, instead of a real intellectual investigation, all Shawn offered was elementary school politics. Even with a sympathetic audience, people were happy to walk out during the Q & A.