To call Zach Scott's current production of Doubt "rock solid" doesn't do it service. The acting is terrific, the lighting design is gorgeous, the costumes, the set, the sound—they all support the piece perfectly. For lack of better words, it's spot-on....

Hyde Park Theatre brings us Martin McDonagh's The Lonesome West. Think of the brilliance of True West, but without the monotonous fuckin' crickets. Th-Sa @8pm through March 29. Tickets online. // Based on Euripides' Trojan Women, Troades at The Vortex explores life for the women of Troy following its decimation at the hands of the Greeks. Th-Su @8pm through March 29. Reservations: 478-LAVA....

Last night, Austin Circle of Theaters ushered in a whole new batch of B. Iden Payne Award winners. The event took place on the lovely St. Ed's campus; MMNT artistic director Ev Lunning Jr. hosted, along with members of the Actor's Equity association. Local heroine Karen Kuykendall was this year's Outstanding Honoree; Austin Chronicle Arts Editor Robert Faires presented her award. It was an elegant and exciting evening, to be sure! We weren't shocked by......

Blue Lapis Light's newest production opened last weekend, and we had chance to take it in. Illumination is the latest site-specific aerial dance work from Blue Lapis Light’s Artistic Director Sally Jacques. We were totally wowed by how pretty the show was. We might've even spent at least part of the time with our mouth hanging open—we were that amazed by the sheer spectacle. Illumination features dancers/aerialists moving around the big open space of the......

My how this city has grown. Austin used to be the kind of town where the summertime theatre offerings were slim pickings. Not so...not anymore. The joints are jumping, and this week is no exception. It's darn near impossible to offer a Pick of the Week, so this week we're suggesting not one but two productions we think you'll enjoy. First, however, we need to report on some awards show shenanigans that went down earlier......

It's the not-too-distant future—fewer than 1.5 White House Administrations from today—and women have lost all reproductive rights. Sexual deviance is defined in broad terms; lesbianism, promiscuity, and BDSM are right out. Committing such acts leads to incarceration and, ultimately, sterilization. This is the scene set by Ring Rip Rent, a new work penned by local playwright Martha Lynn Coon and currently in production at The Vortex. Featuring several high-spirited performances, the production is an......

Last night, Austin's theatre denizens gathered at Zach Scott Theater for the annual B. Iden Payne Awards ceremony. A function of Austin Circle of Theaters, every fall the BIPpies recognize outstanding work on Austin's stages. This year's ballot was chock full of amazing talent—undoubtedly the voting public had some difficult choices to make. With a fabulous ceremony helmed by Andrea Skola and the women of Shrewd Productions, and featuring commentary from the always-funny Buzz......

There's an odd little lot of theatre opening this weekend. From screwball comedy to political puppeteering, you've got more than enough to choose from. We particularly like the looks of The Assumption, brought to you by the good folks at Refraction Arts. With a comedy-fusion format that includes Japanese hillbillies and a little Hamlet thrown in for good measure, this show sounds like too good a time to pass up. Plus the performance includes......

As happens this time every year, the last few months have been pretty slow at Austinist Theatre Central. The 2005-2006 season wrapped by late August or so, including the shorter, simpler summer productions and workshops that seem to be mainstays of so many local theatre companies. Finally the '06-'07 season is well planned and underway, and while we're looking forward to some exciting upcoming productions, we're also in the mood to look back at......

And they're off.... The nominations for this year's B. Iden Payne Awards have been announced. We received 'em this morning, straight from the offices of the Austin Circle of Theatres. If you want to get in on the action, ballots will be available starting this Thursday, September 21, at ACoT (701 Tillery Street) & AusTIX (kiosk at the Austin Visitors Center, 209 E. 6th Street). You must be an ACoT member to vote, but......

Alright. Gloves off. We’ve been snarked on in the past for flippantly referring to productions at the Vortex as “naked theatre”. Taking that into consideration, we’d like to bring to your attention some “adults only” (read: probably naked) theatre opening this weekend. Bell(e): The Museum of Suicide Machinery is a “mesh of performance art, visual installation, experimental theatre, and sound montage” from Austin’s purveyors of the out-there-experimental, Ethos. Anne Marie Gordon designs the scenery......

Quietly epic and subtly moving, this visually stunning site-specific work kept us solidly engaged from beginning to end......

And from the belly of the heaving bastard they ripped the dangling, puke-covered, festering, imp of a baby. Then they all blew themselves up and barbequed some genitalia. They called it…theatre. In honor of our Austinist pick of the week, we thought we’d get all Sarah Kane on your ass. If you’re not already familiar with the playwright that shocked the crap of every English theatre-goer right up until she killed herself in 1999,......