Ouroboros

Two American couples get caught in a chronological palindrome on a trip to Italy. Stigmata, alchemy, adultery, and St. Catherine of Siena's severed head plague a nun and a minister in this circular love story that is a comedy if performed forward and a tragedy if performed backward. "Critic's choice ... Either direction's a rewarding trip, the reversible OUROBOROS provides two distinctive experiences. Only the most skillful and meticulous construction could allow Tom Jacobson's love story involving the repeatedly intersecting spiritual quests of two American couples - each traveling through time in the opposite direction - to be performed in either of two chronological sequences (a circular construction reflected in the title reference to the mythical snake that devours its own tail). Jacobson considers the piece played one way a comedy and a tragedy when played in reverse, these labels apply only in the classical sense, depending on whether the conclusion is happy or not ... this witty, moving narrative palindrome!" -Los Angeles Times "Critic's pick ... You must experience this play. Or is it plays? Tom Jacobson's world premiere follows two unrelated couples, visiting five Italian cities, who are trapped in a hellish collision of fate as they live out cross-referenced realities. This mixture of déjà vu and shocking Twilight Zone-like inevitability results in a five-scene time continuum captivatingly performed in reverse order ... Seen together or alone, this is a thought-provoking pair of hits!" -Backstage West "Recommended ... Tom Jacobson's enchanting metaphysical etude." -L A Weekly "Three stars ... Either way you happen to slice, twist or pretzel it, OUROBOROS is riveting ... As intelligent and thought-provoking as it is entertaining!" -Daily News "Wow! This innovative play is a stunner that renders its audience baffled and rewardingly exhausted throughout and for long after curtain call. I've never seen anything like it! A powerfully mesmerizing trip into the unknown, and a wildly worthy night of theatre that challenges your imagination, it keeps your psyche hopping! Captivatingly written by Tom Jacobson, this is complicates, eerie, heady stuff!" -The Tolucan Times "Pick of the week ... OUROBOROS ... is one of the best productions to hit L A this season. Tom Jacobson's mysterious and intellectually challenging new puzzle featuring two plays in one ... this quickly blossoming and Los Angeles nurtured playwright, someone who will soon be universally recognized, in a perfect world where things happen as they should and in ascending order!" -Entertainment Today