Press Clips | (HH)hamlethouse review | WG News+Arts

"Lilac Co and Saint John's theater offer dramatic structures that move from event to event rather than scene-by-scene. These events are interruptive, continuously messing with an audience's attention. Fundamental to this event structure is language. The work, written and directed by Sean Edward Lewis, recalls literary experiments such as those of Gertrude Stein, Samuel Beckett, Lewis Carol, Antonin Artaud and David Lynch. As audience to their work one can dwell, rather than be directed what to think about, be that a narrative progression, or a character's "inner" psychology. The work affects feelings and ideas actively, if not immediately, LSJ creates not merely physical spaces, but imaginary, emotional, and intellective states an audience passes through." Thom Donovan, Wild Horses of Fire, 6/7/09 (NYC)

"I really enjoyed DEE DEE IS PREGNANT - thanks for doing what you do - so strange, raw, and beautiful." (Shannon Sindelar 31 Down, Curator IAP 07.13.11)

"Ep2 is a a blast! Don't miss this work of pure poetry!" (Daniel Pettrow, The Wooster Group, 10.12.10)

"Some really radical theater happening now in NYC. Show tomorrow night. They are onto something--worth a trip. " Leon Rothenberg, klaxson.net, 11.17.10

"Undercover Mime is intense. It recalls the best of Jack Smith. Laura Murphy is terrific. " Mark Russell, The Public Theater, 11.01.10

"...we were floored by "Cop Piece." A total surprise to see something that great since we didn't know anything about LSJ walking in the door." (Kenneth Collins of Temporary Distortion, June 2010)

"Detective Samuel, played by Seth Powers, is commanding and stolid, his slicked brown hair and chiseled features recalling the wunderkind detective from the film LA Confidential. Powers rich and balanced voice is an emotional balm in the midst of unremittent pathologies." (WG Brooklyn, in review of COP PIECE, 2010)

"...Ophelia, played by Elisa Matula, is having sex with her two Hamlets while moaning and screaming I fucking hate you repeatedly. Elisa Matula's work evokes Naomi Watts from David Lynchs Mulholland Drive." (Thom Donovan, Fanzine in review of (HH)Hamlethouse, 2009)

" Not since Warhol's Lonesome Cowboys have I seen such maverick acting. Plus, Mr. Lewis takes on Gertrude Stein! "(Enrique Pardo, 2007, Pantheatre Paris)

"COP PIECE" is fresh, original, edgy, intense, hilarious, and remarkably complex and nuanced. Sean Lewis' performance was engaging and intimidating, and the supporting actors had moments of brilliance as well. I found myself doubled over with laughter at the layered humor that was created, and the fearlessness with which LSJ created it, building each moment from the preceding moments. The use of the space was great, both as a stage space and as a site specific location. The video was smartly conceived and effectively used within the context of the work. The work was inspired and inspiring. It's great to see such fiercely independent work. "(William Cusick, 2010, williamcusick.com)

Baldwin Soup Kitchen' turned out to be a riveting experience. It is a poetic, challenging work, multi-layered and showing the depth and seriousness of a ensemble coming into its own, and of a writer who has been at it for a good while. It is the work of a maturing artist, in that rarest of things - an original voice - which has been formed up against the knowledge and respect of the modernist tradition in which he is working. (NYC Based Painter Marianne F. Gugnier, 2008)

LSJ is innovative, daring and exciting! They are a group of extremely gifted artists. (Composer Fred Ho, 2009, bigredmediainc.com)

Bazaar Godard' satisfies both theatre-goers souls and stomachs! (Williamsburg Courier April, 2008)

John Morena's work is brilliant. Hilarious and simultaneously unsettling. In "Confessions of Zorro and Diamond" Mr. Morena delivers a savant-like performance from another planet. (Michael Zanna, Performance Theory)

Sean Lewis is a great performer. I enjoyed watching the whole trip of "Bazaar Godard" and following him around.(Kiki Smith, 2008)

"Lilac Saint John's is a real ensemble that makes gut-wrenching original theatre. Smart, edgy, hypnotic - downtown theater is alive and kicking. In Greenpoint!" (Choreographer and Performer Hillary Spector, 2009)

...a strange meeting of Jack Smith and Stan Laurel. Disconcerting and exciting. (Lewis Klahr, Filmmaker & Teacher, CalArts, 2010)

"It was great seeing your work and the work of your company. I really enjoyed being a part of it all, and that's kind of how I felt--didn't someone write the phrase "the living, breathing theatre" a while back? I felt like I was a part of the organism on Norman Avenue on Thursday night. Perhaps in the future, we can write about your work as part of a longer piece on neighborhood theatre. I learned so much from your production and I wanted to thank you for that. I'm really happy--pleased, feeling more human, is what I mean--that there's theatre and poetry and people like you and your friends in the neighborhood." (Philippe Theise Williamsburg/Greenpoint Courier June, 2010)

"By building a new world out of air within damaged surroundings, does the mime prepare for reemergence, or manifest imprisonment? We'll have to wait for the next play to find out--"Undercover Mime" is the second in an ongoing series--but the exhaustive effort of Lewis and co-lead Laura Murphy makes for an electric episode. " (Philippe Theise, Williamsburg and Greenpoint News+Arts, October 2010)