James Joyce’s Ulysses has fascinated, perplexed, scandalized, and/or defeated readers for over a century. Building on a rich history of staging modernist works — Gatz, The Sound and the Fury, The Select (The Sun Also Rises) — Elevator Repair Service (ERS) takes on this Mount Everest of twentieth-century literature.

Seven performers sit down for a sober reading but soon find themselves guzzling pints, getting in brawls, and committing debaucheries as they careen on a fast-forward tour through Joyce’s funhouse of styles. With madcap antics and a densely layered sound design, ERS presents an eclectic sampling from Joyce’s life-affirming masterpiece.

Funds provided by the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Endowment Fund and the NEA Challenge Grant Endowment.