The Fringe Fest play, Dirt, was misleading. Is the production an Austrian import? Transferring an illegally immigrated Basra roses peddler from 1992 Hamburg where white faces break glass upon him, to New York City where he yells over the sound of the subway trains, did not resonate fairly... hopefully Hamburg's population is not that hostile either. I kept thinking of Mahfouz's The Theif and the Dogs, and also of Lawrence Durrell's culture shock in his Alexandria series. I hope, anyway, that Dirt or Dreck, by Robert Schneider, did not accurately portray the personality of this City.

This is the second European import I've seen in this festival. The other, Baaah, was also something of a repackage. It is The Suede Coat, by Stanislav Stratiev (1974). Felipe Bonilla, who originated the role of Gormin Dials in TentagatneT at La Mama was the lead.

One more, dare I call it, repackaging... Dan Fogler's Elephant in the Room... based on Rhinocerous by Eugene Ionesco.