If you put four dwarfs in a hotel room with enough opium
and alcohol it’s bound to end in tears…
During production on The Wizard of Oz rumours spread around Hollywood of
wild Munchkin sex orgies, drunken behaviour and general
dwarf debauchery. More sinisterly, a Munchkin is said to
have committed suicide by hanging himself on the set
during filming. It is a claim that has passed into
Hollywood legend.
Set in a hotel room in Culver City, California, Babylon
Heights is Irvine Welsh and Dean Cavanagh’s scabrous and
hilarious imagining of what could, very possibly, have
led to that dwarf suicide.
Featuring
performances from David Heap, Rachel Rath, Dermot
Magennis and John Fitzpatrick, the show played for an
initial two weeks and was extended to three weeks by
popular demand.
What the critics had to say:
"A sensitive story of oppression full of rare humanity."
"Simmers with tension."
- Roz Britton, Metro
"Claustrophobic and nightmarish atmosphere of foreboding."
- John McKeown, Daily Mail
"Provocative."
"Paints a realistic picture of the discrimination faced by the pint sized performers."
- Allison Bray, Irish independant
"Provocative backstage drama."
"Deliriously vulgar and as subtle as a sledgehammer."
- Jill Lawless, Associated Press
"A funny satire that makes you think."
- Vincent Woods, Rattlebag
"Upbeat direction."
"Flags important issues of discrimination."
- Helen Boylan, The Sunday business post
"Deliciously macabre."
"A set that is a nightmarish flipside to vibrancy of the Wizard of Oz."
- Padraic Killeen, The Irish Examiner
"Rolls a hand grenade under the door of American popular culture."
"A manic, hallucinatory world at the heart of an enduringly innocent Hollywood fantasy."
"A hilariously caustic commentary on the shooting of The Wizard of Oz."
- James Redmond, Village Magazine
"Makes for a hilarious, yet touching evening."
- In Dublin
Click here for more press
reviews of the production
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release
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