Scott Haze and Ahna O'Reilly (photo: Joan Marcus)
To better understand the title of Robert Boswell's gripping and unsettling play, you have to consider how reversing the dictionary meaning of the phrase, "getting the short shrift," as it is has been traditionally understood: "The brief interlude given a condemned prisoner to confess and receive absolution before execution." Although Boswell, is more renowned for his seven published novels, The Long Shrift is his second play, and it's a humdinger.
In defense of his oft-explored theme — you unwittingly hurt the one you love — it explores aspects of rape and repentance with uncanny insight and a clear-minded compassion for both the victim and the perpetrator. That it has been cast with excellent actors and directed with imaginative intelligence by the multi-gifted film star James Franco helps to make this a rewarding, if also harrowing, theater experience.To read the entire review please go to http://curtainup.com/longshrift14.html
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