"Hysterics"

a play by Le Clanché du Rand

Directed by Will Osborne.

HYSTERICS is the true story of an incredible journey. A white South African girl, raised by a black woman in a small town on the edge of the Kalahari Desert, moves to Berkeley in the ‘60’s and ends up as an actress in New York in the ‘80’s. Her adventures and misadventures as she encounters American culture provide a delightfully fresh perspective on our daily lives. Her skirmishes with modern love and a medical crisis inspire with a vivid reminder of what is important in life. She weaves all of these stories into a memorable theatrical evening that has been hailed by a wide variety of audiences.

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HYSTERICS runs for one and a half hours without intermission. It is not appropriate for young children.

HYSTERICS: REVIEWS.

Le Clanché du Rand’s HYSTERICS, both in its writing and performance, is a funny, tender, and ultimately devastating self-portrait of her life’s journey up to now.

--- Joanne Woodward

An absolutely enthralling actress.

--- Marilyn Stasio, The New York Post

A native South African with the improbably glorious name of Le Clanché du Rand--she has the quality of a young Geraldine Page, now playing Cissy with a kind of amiable terror that’s both funny and touching, giving a crazy beauty to her hysterical smile. She’s the happy coward who’s in all of us.

--- Jack Kroll, Newsweek

This graceful monologue, delivered with so much warmth and wit, actually traces the arc of Du Rand’s life, linking the woman she is today with the experiences, ancient and almost forgotten, that shaped her.

--- Tobi Valeo, Chicago Daily Herald

It’s a tribute to her effects that at Wednesday night’s opening performance, one could literally hear a pin drop for the final few minutes of her tale.

--- Richard Christiansen, Chicago Tribune

With just a chair and a pitcher of water, Du Rand manages to keep the audience riveted for 90 uninterrupted minutes with her own hilarious gripping life story. ... Throughout HYSTERICS Du Rand maintains a sense of humor, no matter how personal the account. It takes a lot of courage to describe one’s harrowing experiences to an audience of total strangers, but to do it with a self-deprecating sense of humor is astonishing. ... The finale, which brings the story full circle, is stunning in its effective simplicity. Many of the themes mentioned throughout the play join together in a beautiful final image.

--- Eric Grode, The Daily Orange/Syracuse

From the moment Le Clanché Du Rand steps onto the stage, teacup in hand, to sit and tell her story, her performance is enthralling. Perhaps it is the frank candor with which she tells her story. .... Perhaps it is her ability as an actress to reach out to her audience. .... By the end of the play, Du Rand has woven together African rituals and American life in such a way as to leave an indelible impression on her audience.

--- Colleen De Baise, Scotsman/Syracuse

The dignity and strength that emerge through her telling of this experience is a testament to the human spirit, reminding us why we continually come come together to hear one another’s stories.

--- Justin Hayford, Chicago Reader

Especially winning is Du Rand’s account of culture shock, when newly arrived from Africa, she is befuddled by the language and bewitched by television and Otis Redding.

--- Virginia Gerst, Pioneer Press/Syracuse

In her one woman performance, HYSTERICS, actress Le Clanché Du Rand speaks as much of the magical as she does the hysterical.

--- Sherman Kaplan, WBBM Theater Review/Chicago

Le Clanché Du Rand’s HYSTERICS--a bravura one-woman piece currently being performed by the playwright at Syracuse Stage ...... Du Rand is exquisitely adroit with changes in vocal volume and texture and eloquently planned, brief spurts of movement and gesture. She holds her audience securely in her grasp through lush and lovely silences ......

--- Caissa Willmer, Ithaca Times

At a time when new voices are desperately needed in American theater, Syracuse Stage can be proud it is giving major exposure to Le Clanché Du Rand and HYSTERICS, the work she wrote and is performing at the John D. Archbold Theater.

--- Joan Vadeboncoeur, Syracuse Post-Standard

Syracuse Stage’s latest offering is a one-woman show which fills the theatre with talent, poignancy, drama, humor and common sense. ... And, both the story and the actress are mesmerizing. Du Rand manages to make the audience feel like they are with her on a journey which travels through the trials, tribulations and joys of her past. ... And Du Rand does it all deftly with humor, common sense and most of all poignancy. ... HYSTERICS is a tender yet intense story which is told with emotion sensitivity and drama by an extremely talented playwright and actress.

--- Maria Forastiero, Star New/Syracuse

HYSTERICS, the one-performer play at Syracuse Stage featuring Le Clanché Du Rand, is a relaxed, absorbing, enjoyable 90 minutes of theater. ... The stage is dominated by Du Rand’s good humor and common sense. ... One is in the company of a woman of middle years who is high-spirited, intelligent and compassionate. ... And Du Rand is such a splendid actress that she does, literally, make her life and the other characters in it come alive for us. ... The ending though, as the character finds a ritual that re-establishes her oneness with Daisy, regains pure theatrical power.

--- Neil Novelli, Syracuse Herald Journal