Unveiling

Havel’s darkly comic critique of those who compromise their ethics for government favor comes to the stage in a new production in honor of what would have been his 90th birthday. Havel’s signature character, Ferdinand Vaněk, visits the home of old friends who try to seduce him into making the same moral compromises they have made in exchange for small privileges. Havel’s wit and political undercurrents make Unveiling both hilariously uncomfortable and strikingly relevant—a farce that exposes the desperation of those who have lost their moral bearings. Havel was both the former Czech President and the leader of the Velvet Revolution against Soviet rule in 1989. He is also one of the premiere absurdist playwrights of the 20th Century, as well as winner of multiple Obie Awards here in New York. This play was written in 1975 while his work was still banned in Czechoslovakia, and it was originally performed privately in living rooms. The showing at Torn Page is in a similar theatrical condition to the original showings.