MARK JACKSON

“Mark Jackson stages the new Aurora Theatre production for maximum impact. The result is a gripping, and often searingly funny, 90-minute revival of an overlooked 20th century classic… It’s an absurd situation, but Jackson, one of the Bay Area’s most resourceful directors, makes it visceral, tightening the action until the explosive final coup… The beauty of this production is its timeless feel.  As directed by Jackson, The Arsonists might as well be new.”

SAN FRANCISCO EXAMINER

“Jackson’s swift, 85-minute production punches the laughs without ever losing Frisch’s sharp edges.”

THEATERDOGS.NET

“Directed by Mark Jackson, The Arsonists burns as brightly as ever as an unsettling cautionary tale about the desire to bury one's head in the sand. Jackson's taut staging revels in the absurd nature of Biedermann's world… And Jackson nimbly mines the wit and whimsy from the piece and invites us to laugh at the comedy of a man courting his own destruction.”

SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS

“Mark Jackson's vibrant production highlights the satire's timeliness at every turn.” 

SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE

“If there was ever a time to revive a play best known for its condemnation of the silent complicity of the comfortable classes in times of civil unrest and encroaching disaster, this might well be one of the best… This Mark Jackson-directed farce might play on the surface as a cheerfully absurdist comedy of manners, but the pointed cultural critique that underlies it is deadly serious… While the humor in the script does provoke its share of laughter, much of it is the kind of horrified laughter emitted by an audience that reluctantly recognizes its own complicity in its perhaps inevitable downfall.”

SAN FRANCISCO BAY GUARDIAN

“Director Mark Jackson's staging of the play is stunning, superbly balancing the dark comedy of the events inside the house with the highly stylized element of a full-on Greek chorus…”

KQED.ORG

“Ever since auteur Mark Jackson exploded on the local scene with his brilliant production of The Death of Meyerhold that he wrote and directed under the auspices of The Shotgun Players in 2003, he is in great demand as a director. His works do not ‘grace’ the local stages, they explode with energy. So it is with Aurora Theatre’s staging of The Arsonist by Max Frisch… It is a theatrical event that should not be missed…”

FOR ALL EVENTS

“Snappily directed by Mark Jackson… Consistently convincing and highly engaging performances from the entire cast…”

EDGE

“Award-winning director Mark Jackson and the other members of the production have done outstanding work.”

BERKELEYSIDE.COM

“The Aurora production, directed by Mark Jackson, is slick and smooth, the actors excellent.”

CULTUREVULTURE.NET

“A sizzling triumph of theatricality, and a wake-up call to any who choose to be awakened… With superb performances by all in the cast of eight, Aurora's production is as gripping as is funny, and in flashes it's positively scary… Mark Jackson's direction draws out the parable's black humor and tension… There's nothing subtle about either the text or the performances: parables unfold with few complications, and this one runs its course in a very brisk 90 minutes. From the outset, catastrophe is inevitable. But sterling performances and intelligent direction turn the obvious into engrossing and stimulating theater.”

HUFFINGTONPOST.COM

“Aurora Theatre Company's outstanding, entertaining new staging of Max Frisch's The Arsonists… Brilliantly directed by Mark Jackson… The Arsonists is crisp, superbly performed and deliciously fun to muse over afterwards, at once challenging, playful, and thought-provoking.”

NORTH BAY BOHEMIAN