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Titanic
Amid a tangle of changing identities—and sometimes sexes—the action of the play centers on an American family, the Tammurais, who are traveling aboard the Titanic. Comprised of father, mother, brother and sister (or is she actually the Captain's daughter?) the Tammurais undergo a series of sexual permutations as they reveal all manner of shocking secrets and bizarre fetishes while awaiting the iceberg which, somehow, the ship seems unable to find. The mother tells the father that their son is not really his; the father confesses to the mother that their daughter is not really hers; the daughter mysteriously becomes an aunt who is having an affair with her sister (when she isn't seducing her nephew); while the father and son compete vigorously for the affections of a handsome young sailor, who is hard put to choose between them. Eventually the ship does go down, taking its odd assemblage of passengers with it, but leaving behind a remarkable array of original thoughts on the nature of the modern American family and the undeniably disturbed society which nurtures it.
42 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1998
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 15, 2015
Christopher Durang is actually insane. At first I found this play hilarious and then it became a string of endless jokes each more ridiculous than the last...which is fine except there was no central conflict or through-line of action. It was just comedy for the sake of comedy which I am not the biggest fan of. Either way, this would probably be a blast to see live.
September 10, 2021
I have been a fan of Christopher Durang since my high school days. Like many young people over the country, I first became acquainted with him from his play "The Actor's Nightmare", a one-act that is still done quite often for high school one act play programs (I starred in it my Freshman year of high school). From there, my drama director, who had a most impressive collection of plays, would lend me other, less age-appropriate plays Durang had written (my drama director was super cool).
I am fairly certain I never read "Titanic" high school. I may have read it when I was in college, but that was quite a while ago, and my memory of it was fuzzy, if there at all, so I decided it would be like reading it again for the first time, and indeed it was.
Christopher Durang is one of those awesome playwrights who provides a great deal of backstory in the published collections of his plays and on his website. "Titanic" started as a playwriting exercise while he was at Yale, and continued to be workshopped there. It became a very early New York production for the young playwright when it was produced off-off-Broadway and then moved off-Broadway. The cast featured Sigourney Weaver, one of Durang's good friends from Yale, who has been in a whole lot of his work since. Running at about an hour and some change, the off-Broadway production featured a curtain raiser, "Das Lusitania Songspiel", a cabaret piece written and performed by Durang and Weaver.
Durang makes it clear on his website that this one act is NOT for high schools. He writes, "It's funny and very perverse, and definitely the most x-rated of my plays." (He means this due to language and things that are talked about--- it is not actually x-rated... more of a hard R). And indeed, it is gleefully perverse and, in my opinion, hilarious, with laughter on every page. It is meant to go to extremes, and like others of his earlier one acts, characters shift in their identities and motivation in strong, bracing ways. This is a high energy play, intentionally shocking and surreal, with a love of strange language that feels inspired by Ionesco, and a kind of sexual and sexuality free for all that is not guilt free or without consequence. Durang notes that he has not seen a production ever quite hit the tone he saw in his head while writing--- "I've seen the funny farce, but I've never seen the moments where weird and unexpected sadness presses itself through."
I can understand what he means. As I was reading, while I laughed out loud more than once, these characters are in dark situations. One character specifically is heartbroken every moment that goes by and the ship isn't sinking. And almost every character makes mention of a yearning, a longing, a kind of loneliness or need for connection that cannot be filled. This was not lost on me, though I imagine it must be difficult (Durang, once again on his website, tells us, "This is a really difficult play to do") to get the tone just right in production, when there is so much talk about animals hidden in genitals and dildos being strapped to heads. Indeed, and I am not making this up, this kind of energy has the kind of feel of how Ancient Greek Theater Festivals were described in books I have read about them. A kind of bittersweet, dark bacchanal.
This is my cup of tea, though it isn't for everyone. Durang writes in his collection 27 Short Plays that "One should never call a play Titanic as this is too great a temptation for critics to say 'Titanic Sinks' and 'Durang Goes Down With His Ship'. Etc., etc., all of which happened."
But I think it's a riot.
I am fairly certain I never read "Titanic" high school. I may have read it when I was in college, but that was quite a while ago, and my memory of it was fuzzy, if there at all, so I decided it would be like reading it again for the first time, and indeed it was.
Christopher Durang is one of those awesome playwrights who provides a great deal of backstory in the published collections of his plays and on his website. "Titanic" started as a playwriting exercise while he was at Yale, and continued to be workshopped there. It became a very early New York production for the young playwright when it was produced off-off-Broadway and then moved off-Broadway. The cast featured Sigourney Weaver, one of Durang's good friends from Yale, who has been in a whole lot of his work since. Running at about an hour and some change, the off-Broadway production featured a curtain raiser, "Das Lusitania Songspiel", a cabaret piece written and performed by Durang and Weaver.
Durang makes it clear on his website that this one act is NOT for high schools. He writes, "It's funny and very perverse, and definitely the most x-rated of my plays." (He means this due to language and things that are talked about--- it is not actually x-rated... more of a hard R). And indeed, it is gleefully perverse and, in my opinion, hilarious, with laughter on every page. It is meant to go to extremes, and like others of his earlier one acts, characters shift in their identities and motivation in strong, bracing ways. This is a high energy play, intentionally shocking and surreal, with a love of strange language that feels inspired by Ionesco, and a kind of sexual and sexuality free for all that is not guilt free or without consequence. Durang notes that he has not seen a production ever quite hit the tone he saw in his head while writing--- "I've seen the funny farce, but I've never seen the moments where weird and unexpected sadness presses itself through."
I can understand what he means. As I was reading, while I laughed out loud more than once, these characters are in dark situations. One character specifically is heartbroken every moment that goes by and the ship isn't sinking. And almost every character makes mention of a yearning, a longing, a kind of loneliness or need for connection that cannot be filled. This was not lost on me, though I imagine it must be difficult (Durang, once again on his website, tells us, "This is a really difficult play to do") to get the tone just right in production, when there is so much talk about animals hidden in genitals and dildos being strapped to heads. Indeed, and I am not making this up, this kind of energy has the kind of feel of how Ancient Greek Theater Festivals were described in books I have read about them. A kind of bittersweet, dark bacchanal.
This is my cup of tea, though it isn't for everyone. Durang writes in his collection 27 Short Plays that "One should never call a play Titanic as this is too great a temptation for critics to say 'Titanic Sinks' and 'Durang Goes Down With His Ship'. Etc., etc., all of which happened."
But I think it's a riot.
March 1, 2020
This play would be an interesting watch. But is it a good play of the absurd. No. It leans more into comedy, absurdity for humor, then it does for absurdity for horror. Once again I find myself wondering if Christopher Durang is a true absurdist or just a mediocre creative who calls his self absurd because of his lazy style.
May 24, 2021
I guess I'm still in Christopher Durang's 'absurdist' phase, and I'm not really enjoying it. I'm a huge fan of "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike". So I keep reading his old plays and waiting to see signs pointing to improvements. I suppose I'll continue to wait.
November 21, 2025
Titanic by Christopher Durang
Absolutely wild that three years after appearing in this play, Sigourney Weaver was in Alien. What an upgrade.
Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!
Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a post-it note with the book.
Started September 22nd, 2025.
Finished October 1st, 2025.
September 22nd, 2025* (after midnight): read introduction in physical form.
October 1st, 2025: read entire play in physical form.
*I'm 99% this is accurate.
Absolutely wild that three years after appearing in this play, Sigourney Weaver was in Alien. What an upgrade.
Reading history:
Normally I keep this in my private notes section, but I'm moving it. Yay!
Reading history was not added on Goodreads, but was instead kept on a post-it note with the book.
Started September 22nd, 2025.
Finished October 1st, 2025.
September 22nd, 2025* (after midnight): read introduction in physical form.
October 1st, 2025: read entire play in physical form.
*I'm 99% this is accurate.
June 18, 2012
One of the strangest plays I have EVER read, but, I could not help but to laugh out loud on numerous occasions.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews