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VIRTUAL SOLITAIRE – Just the Facts
NY FRINGE EDITION
5 Performances Only!
Who:
Dawson Nichols, internationally renowned playwright & performer.
What:
Virtual Solitaire, a solo play which has won accolades and awards across the US,
Canada, and Australia.
When:
Cost:
Where:
The Play:
Virtual Solitaire is a play-for-one-person about Nathan, a man lost in a fullimmersion virtual entertainment. The game is a murder-mystery, and as Nathan
tries to find his way out he begins to realize that this might be more than a game –
someone might be intentionally keeping him online. He surfs through more than
two dozen characters in the entertainment, searching for the shifting line between
VR (virtual reality) and RL (real life). And perhaps this is the mystery of the
murder-mystery. And if that’s true, perhaps the murder is his own.
The Playwright:
Dawson Nichols has written more than two dozen original plays and
adaptations, including Escher’s Hands, which was nominated for the national
New Play Award of the American Theatre Critics Association (in 1997). He is
best known for his solo works which have toured extensively throughout North
America and abroad. Among his full-length plays-for-one-person are I Might Be
Edgar Allan Poe, which is also playing at the 2011 NYFringe, Three Descents of
Darwin, Jekyll, Stop Start, and Meet Brian Boomer. Dawson has received
commissions from Seattle Children’s Theatre, ACT Theatre, and Aha! Theatre.
He has also received a fellowship from Artist Trust, a grant from the King County
Arts Commission, and in 1997 he was nominated for the Elizabeth Osborne
Emerging Playwright Award.
“A work of tremendous imagination formed by edgy, poetic writing and acted with awesome skill.” - Saskatoon
StarPhoenix (Named Best Play at the Saskatoon Fringe Festival)
“Jaw-droppingly good.” – The Winnipeg Sun
“Theatre at its best! Bravo!” - InSight Magazine
“A shamanlike performance.” - The Seattle PI
“Redefines the ubiquitous solo show… an electrifying performer!” - Edmonton Journal (Named Best Play at the
Edmonton Fringe Festival)
“Nichols again pushes the envelope of the one-man show in an intriguing direction. Leave the vid-screen behind
tonight and take a real trip.” - The Seattle Weekly
“Confirms Dawson Nichols’ total mastery of the one-man show.” - Sunday Mail, Adelaide, Australia
(Glutton for press quotes? Here are more, organized for your enjoyment.)
Long Format
“A truly brilliant play. . . by turns hilarious, terrifying and thought-provoking. Jaw-droppingly good.” – The
Winnipeg Sun
“A brilliant affirmation that a lone actor can populate a whole theatrical world. Nichols is to virtual-speak what
David Mamet is to real estate sharks.” - The Edmonton Journal
“So beautifully written and performed that it should stand as a blueprint for any solo artist.” - Vancouver Sun
“This show fits into that rare category of 100% successful.” - KSER Radio, Seattle
“Dawson Nichols is fast becoming THE KING of the one man show.” - Talent B.C.
Short Format - Descriptive
“A nimble theatrical gamester!” - The Seattle Times
“Intelligent, thought-provoking” - The Adelaide ‘Tizer, Australia
“Nothing short of dazzling” - Georgia Straight, Vancouver
“Comical, moving and sinister” – The Sunday Mail, Australia
“A virtuoso combination of uncanny physicality and cerebral whimsy” - Victoria News
Short Format - Comparative
“Takes The Matrix to the feet of David Cronenberg” The Australian
“Reminiscent of a William Gibson Novel” - The Victoria Times-Colonist
“A combination of Max Headroom and poet Matthew Arnold” - The Winnipeg Sun
“More vigor than a barrel of Viagra” - Monday Magazine, Victoria