Beyond Words at Central Square Theater

Beyond Words

Central Square Theater
450 Massachusetts Avenue Cambridge

Meet Alex and his friend, Dr. Irene Pepperberg. Alex is an African Grey parrot. Irene is a researcher at Harvard University. Over the protests of her male colleagues, Irene teaches Alex to meaningfully communicate and solve problems at the level of a five-year-old child. This highly theatrical new work tracks their 30-year research experiment turned love story and asks: in a world where we are rapidly destroying animal habitats, just who exactly are we sharing our planet with? From the award-winning writer of Paradise.

Thru - Apr 14, 2024

Wednesdays: 7:30pm

Thursdays: 7:30pm

Fridays: 8:00pm

Saturdays: 3:00pm & 8:00pm

Sundays: 2:00pm

Show Type: Drama

Box Office: 617-576-9278

www.centralsquaretheater.org

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Beyond Words Reviews

Average Rating based on 4 reviews

Highly Recommended
Recommended
Somewhat Recommended
Not Recommended

The Boston Globe - Highly Recommended

"...Under the inventive direction of Cassie Chapados, “Beyond Words” tracks the real-life 30-year relationship — it’s nothing less than that — between Alex and Dr. Irene M. Pepperberg, played by Stephanie Clayman."

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- Don Aucoin

WBUR - Recommended

"...The small but talented cast moves through schools and labs, depicting scientists at conferences and even another bird. But the dynamic Mootos, who switches from the (initially) doting husband to the cringey Howard Towers, is exceptionally engaging. Mootos’ Towers dons a silk-like scarf as a necktie, tinted glasses and is rumored to be a bit of a ladies’ man. Towers studies primates and in the show, his work fails to garner the results he might have hoped for. Nevertheless, he ends up in a position of power and looks down on Pepperberg’s work and her attachment to Alex."

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- Jacquinn Sinclair

The Arts Fuse - Recommended

"...Beyond Words is a love letter, of sorts. As Irene, Clayman shifts from narrator to character, which is an efficient way to keep the events moving along. As in real-life, Alex steals the show. Jon Vellante is mesmerizing playing the brainy bird: his intense focus, enhanced by subtle physical ticks, transforms him into the seminal African grey parrot. He gives us a fowl who is always listening to what is going on around him. Even when Alex is not in the scene, he’s present, and eavesdropping."

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- David Greenham

New England Theater Mirror - Highly Recommended

"...Beyond Words is the newest work stemming from the ongoing partnership between MIT and Central Square Theater, Catalyst Collaborative@MIT (CC@MIT). The intersection of the worlds of art and science spring to life, with at least one play per season being dedicated to science. Beyond Words dramatizes the 30-year research experiment by Dr. Irene Pepperberg and Alex, the African Grey Parrot. In a study of inter-species relationships, Pepperberg wades through personal and professional trenches in her quest to prove that humans are not the only species capable of communication."

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- Helen Ganley

Beyond Words at Central Square Theater

Beyond Words

Beyond Words Reviews

The Boston Globe - Highly Recommended

WBUR - Recommended

The Arts Fuse - Recommended

New England Theater Mirror - Highly Recommended

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