Monkey Wrench Collective

The O.C. Register's intrepid Eric Marchese stopped by the Wrench last week to do a little SHOPPING & FUCKING, and has subsequently rendered his review into print:

For "Shopping and F***ing," his first major full-length play, playwright Mark Ravenhill chose a simple theme that has wide-reaching ramifications: That, for good or bad, mass consumerism is the only thing that drives a Western civilization devoid of all other values.

For most Brits, Americans and Western Europeans, Ravenhill posits, spending money and enjoying life (sex, drugs etc.) are the only things that matter in life. That the Brit playwright is able to wring laughs from this premise is a testament to his skill, for whatever else, "Shopping" is basically a comedy, however dark its trappings.

Though most of Ravenhill's subsequent plays reiterate this theme, it's rampant in "Shopping," which opened in London in September 1996 and gets a notable workout from Monkey Wrench Collective theater company in Fullerton. ... The resulting show is a darkly comic warning sign for anyone caught up in shopping and – you know.

--O.C. Register
Review by Eric Marchese