Stage Review - I Protest (Drunken Owl Theatre)

Stage Review - I Protest
Presented By: Drunken Owl Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: May 29 - June 01, 2026
Date Reviewed: Friday, May 29, 2026 (Opening Night)
Run Time: 2 Hours, 15 Minutes (including a 10 minute intermission)
Reviewed by: Greg Heilman

Drunken Owl Theatre’s latest evening of original music, poetry, and theatre, I Protest, runs this weekend through Monday, June 1, with performances Saturday through Monday at the company’s familiar home at Jules Maes Saloon in Georgetown, while opening night took place at a new venue for the company, The Mountain Room at Rainier Brewery. The change of scenery proves fitting for an organization built around experimentation and the development of new work. Much like the pieces themselves, the evening is willing to step into unfamiliar territory. Centered around the broad theme of protest, the program explores resistance in all its forms—political, social, cultural, and deeply personal—through an eclectic collection of short plays, poetry, and live music.

One of the unique strengths of Drunken Owl’s salon-style evenings is that they occupy a space somewhere between production and workshop. These events are not about polished spectacle. They are about artists sharing ideas, testing new material, and inviting audiences into the creative process. That spirit is evident throughout the evening as playwrights, poets, musicians, and actors present works that feel timely, provocative, humorous, and heartfelt. While the quality of the individual pieces varies, the collective experience is one of engagement and discovery.

The evening opens with Carolynne Wilcox’s I Was Asked to Write a Piece About ICE (or The News Cycle), perhaps the work that most directly addresses the challenge of creating art in the current political climate. Structured around the frustrating reality that one crisis is almost immediately replaced by another in the public consciousness, the piece wrestles with the speed and volatility of contemporary news cycles. Presented through multiple voices embodying memory, noise, body, and writer, it captures both the urgency and exhaustion of attempting to remain engaged when each day seems to bring a new outrage demanding attention. It is a thoughtful and effective opening that establishes many of the themes that resonate throughout the remainder of the program.

Among the evening’s theatrical offerings, Anna Tatelman’s Parallel Ambitions delivers one of its most inventive concepts. Imagining a world in which Lady Macbeth and Hamlet occupy the same universe, the play cleverly combines two of Shakespeare’s most famous tragic figures and asks what might happen if they joined forces rather than succumbed to the fates prescribed by their respective stories. Anna’s writing is witty and intelligent, building a world in which Shakespeare can coexist with someone like David Mamet and finding humor in the collision of personalities while still exploring ambition, power, and self-determination. It is one of the evening’s most entertaining pieces and demonstrates why Anna’s work continues to be revered by those in the area looking for new and fresh voices.

Following intermission comes Pamela Hobart Carter’s Rook and Marcella Test the Waters, an imaginative story centered on two individuals facing judgment for an act of compassion. After Rook rescues Marcella from drowning, the pair find themselves navigating a system more interested in rules than circumstances. Carter uses the premise to explore questions of conformity, kindness, and individual agency, crafting a story that feels both whimsical and quietly pointed. The play ultimately argues that compassion should never be viewed as a violation, a message that fits comfortably within the evening’s larger themes.

Closing the theatrical portion of the evening is Barbara Lindsay’s Here to Serve You, a satirical look at airport security and bureaucratic excess. What begins with something as simple as a lone shoe quickly spirals into an increasingly absurd series of events. The escalation is intentionally over the top, and the comedy lands because the audience recognizes just enough truth within the exaggeration. Lindsay’s script is sharp and funny, generating some of the evening’s biggest laughs while still managing to comment on the systems and procedures that increasingly govern everyday life.

The poetry portion of the evening is equally effective. Michael Hickey’s contribution offers thoughtful reflection through his unique poetic voice, while Kaitlyn DeMeyere, a Drunken Owl regular and one of the area’s most engaging and thought-provoking young poets, brings an immediacy and passion that resonates strongly with the audience. Kaitlyn’s work broadens the evening’s definition of protest, moving beyond politics to examine perseverance, personal growth, and the courage required to remain authentic in a world that often demands conformity. Together, the poets remind us that protest can be internal as well as external.

One of the pleasures of an evening like I Protest is seeing artists at various stages of their creative journeys sharing the same stage. Veteran performers such as Kevin Finney, Christina Williams, Adam Tapp, and Sumant Gupta bring confidence and polish to their roles, while Paige Dasher makes an impressive first appearance with Drunken Owl. The cast, who are responsible for performing in each of the four pieces, embraces the evening’s varied material, moving comfortably between satire, drama, spoken word, and absurdist comedy. Their commitment allows each piece to find its own voice while contributing to the larger conversation unfolding throughout the evening.

Music once again serves as the connective tissue that holds the evening together. Friday night’s accompaniment comes courtesy of The Brews Brothers, comprised of Conrad Wesselhoeft, Charles Philipp Martin, John Davis as the core group along with some newer additions. Their musicianship helps establish the relaxed, communal atmosphere that has become synonymous with Drunken Owl’s salon-style events. Particularly memorable is their performance of Immigration Man, an original and updated rendition of Woody Guthrie’s Vigilante Man, a tune with a folk sound and enduring themes of borders, belonging, and identity which fit naturally within an evening devoted to protest and resistance. More than simply providing entertainment between pieces, the group helps unify the evening, bridging the transitions between poetry and theatre while reinforcing the sense that the audience is participating in a gathering of artists rather than attending a conventional theatrical production.

Behind the scenes, Stacey Hansen’s work as stage manager and sound designer keeps the evening moving smoothly, while Pamela’s scenic design and the efforts of the set painting team provide an understated visual framework that supports the storytelling without distracting from it. As with most Drunken Owl productions, the emphasis remains firmly on the words, the performers, and the ideas being explored.

Drunken Owl Theatre continues to bring some of the most unique evenings of performance art to the stage in the region. Their latest, I Protest, proves that not every piece approaches protest from the same angle. Instead, the evening recognizes that resistance can take many forms. It can be political, personal, artistic, cultural, or simply an act of refusing to look away. Through music, poetry, and theatre, Drunken Owl Theatre creates a space where artists can respond to the world around them in real time, sharing ideas that are often still evolving and inviting audiences into that process. In an arts landscape where opportunities for new work can be difficult to find, that mission feels increasingly important. I Protest may not offer answers to the issues it raises, but it succeeds in encouraging conversation, reflection, and engagement. Sometimes, especially in uncertain times, that may be protest enough.

Drunken Owl Theatre’s latest evening of music, poetry, and theatre, “I Protest” runs on stage at the Jules Maes Saloon through June 1 (opening night was at The Mountain Room at Rainier Brewery). For more information, including ticket availability and sales, visit https://drunkenowltheatre.org/.