Recess

When someone throws around the term “documentary,” chances are the following word will be “film,” maybe “radio” if the conversation concerns public radio programming. But because of the efforts of Duke’s Center for Documentary Studies, including this month’s Documentary Speakers Series, the phrase “documentary writing” should soon look far more familiar.

Post-apartheid South Africa sets the stage for MoLoRa, a Farber Foundry Theater production presented by Duke Performances. This tale of vengeance and suffering is adapated from an ancient Greek tragedy, Aeschylus’s Oresteia, and updated in the context of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission tribunals, where­ apartheid victims would face their tormentors.

With last week’s premiere of the CW’s High Society, New York City and its residents now have to suffer another 30 minutes of reality television ridicule (The City, NYC Prep and Real Housewives of New York were clearly not enough). Watching my hometown depicted as a farce and fellow residents painted as surface-obsessed caricatures only worried about what row they’ll sit in at this year’s Fashion Week, is more than painful. In order to balance out all this hate, my mind turned to what reality shows could be set in Durham.