As previously reported, Samuel French, Inc., representing the wishes of the Harold Pinter estate, placed a restriction on all press reviews for The Room, which debuted Feb. 4 and is scheduled to run through Feb. 14 at Redcat. The reason cited for the ban was that the company had failed to alert the licensing group about the L.A. production prior to announcing it to the press.
In the wake of the announced restrictions, The American Theatre Critics Association released a statement saying it would not recognize the "right of any group, including the licensing company, author or estate, to restrict coverage of a public event." The organization maintained that arts criticism is journalism; therefore, reviewing the public event would be at the discretion of writers and their editors.
Read select reviews for The Room below:
The Hollywood Reporter La Downtown News
Read More: Critics Banned from Reviewing Wooster Group's Pinter Production
Prior to premiering at Redcat, The Wooster Group presented The Room in sold-out, advanced showings at The Performing Garage in New York, Oct. 28-Nov. 21, 2015. The production is helmed by Wooster director Elizabeth LeCompte. Billed as a "comedy of menace," it is the playwright's first play, penned when he was just 27 years old. The Wooster Group has been informed that it does not have permission for a planned return engagement in New York or subsequent Paris run.
To purchase tickets to the Los Angeles debut, visit redcat.org.
