Holding Talks (Rotimi Foundation, 8:15 p.m. March 10-13 and 3:15 p.m. March 14 at Manbites Dog Theater, 703 Foster St., Durham, NC) is an encore presentation of a short Absurdist drama by Nigerian playwright Ola Rotimi (1938-2000). Originally presented Feb. 25-27 by the Duke University Institute of the Arts, this Rotimi Foundation production will be repeated at Manbites Dog as part of the theater’s Other Voices Series. “By turns funny and infuriating, Holding Talks is a play in which nothing gets done,” according to Manbites Dog preshow publicity. “Things almost get done, but in the end, nothing gets done…. [Holding Talks is] a small masterpiece by… one of contemporary Africa’s greatest writers and directors. His works, including such diverse genres as tragedies, comedies, historical drama, children’s drama, and dance, are performed and produced around the world.” For more information, visit http://www.manbitesdogtheater.org/2/. For tickets, telephone 919/682-3343 or visit http://www.tix.com/Schedule.asp?OrganizationNumber=150 [inactive 8/04].
About The Author
Robert McDowell
Robert W. McDowell is a Raleigh, NC, freelance writer, editor, and theater critic who served as CVNC's theatre editor from September 2002 to May 2010. Since 1973, the Columbia, SC, native and 1970 graduate of East Carolina University in Greenville, NC, has written theater, book, and music previews and reviews for the Raleigh News & Observer, The Raleigh Times, North Carolina Magazine of Raleigh, and Spectator Magazine of Raleigh. In April 2001, Robert McDowell established Robert's Reviews, an e-mail theatrical newsletter, to help fill a growing void in Triangle theater coverage. Triangle Theater Review is an expanded version of the original newsletter, circulated by e-mail. He also co-edited and supervised the production of Jim Valvano's Guide to Great Eating (JTV Enterprises, 1984), a 224-page celebrity cookbook; and he served as a fact checker for Valvano: They Gave Me a Lifetime Contract, and Then They Declared Me Dead (Pocket Books, 1991).