Sam Thielman, Variety
"Better late than never for Howard Barker's "A Hard Heart". In fact, better late than early: Barker's play takes dead aim at political excesses that were not a factor in America when it was first written, and it now scans not merely as a warning, but an accusation. As with his "Scenes From an Execution," Barker's moral labyrinth is built in a Brechtian, quasi-fantastic landscape with queens, generals and wars cut from whole cloth. The distancing effect is deceptive for a play that talks about our world, and with director Will Pomerantz's crackerjack cast to point the finger, the indictment lands with startling force."

Epic is in the business of finding quality work by unrecognized talent (Kate Fodor's "Hannah and Martin" being a prime example), but it's a shame that Barker continues to languish in relative obscurity in this country. Perhaps this will be the production that puts his familiar, imaginary landscapes on the map."

Justin Hudnall, Huffington Post
"Nothing says, "I told you so" like writing a political parable a decade before it comes true. But the beauty of a good parable is that it has the feel of having already come true a hundred times before, and of being prophetic of a hundred dark hours to come. This is what English playwright Howard Barker has achieved with "A Hard Heart," originally a radio play performed in 1991 and now brought to the New York stage by Epic Theater Ensemble.

The play's protagonist, played flawlessly by Kathleen Chalfant, is the architect of an unspecified country's failing war. Following her delusional obsession with prestige, Chalfant's architect smirks and saunters even as she orders the destruction of her own civilization, blindly confident of her own misguided decisions.

Going on this journey provides the audience with a rare and harrowing glimpse into the worst-case scenario of an unsound mind given unchallenged power, and the story's fairytale trappings do nothing to soften its plausibility."

Helen Shaw, Time Out
"The author's moral ambiguity keeps our brains churning past the final curtain. Director Will Pomerantz and designer Narelle Sissons aren't kidding when they set the piece inside a giant packing container. This is a message depressingly ready for export. Friedman and Wallert do superb work, matching Chalfant's slippery, sexy performance."

Caryn James, The New York Times
"A Hard Heart" is presented by the Epic Theater Ensemble, whose mission, like Mr. Barker's, is to provoke social dialogue; audience talk-backs with guest speakers and cast members follow each performance. And the work is nicely staged. James Wallert gives a strong, sly performance as Attila, who has some tricks up his very crisp shirt sleeves. Kathleen Chalfant can perform such miracles onstage…. (She) wrings every bit of complexity from the role."

The New Yorker
"Barker's main conception - that of the avid architect gleefully designing war machines - looms like an awesome, terrifying giant. Chalfant commands all attention, overwhelming the dense language in surges of pure, jittery ego."

Frank Scheck, New York Post
"For sheer ruthlessness, not even the most hard-line current political figures compare to Riddler, the central character in British playwright Howard Barker's "A Hard Heart." What makes Riddler convincing is the quiet restraint of Chalfant's performance. (She) presents a subtle portrait of undoubting self-righteousness that is all the more chilling for its lack of overt histrionics. Director Will Pomerantz's intense staging effectively employs startling sound and lighting effects to convey a suitably apocalyptic atmosphere."

October 30, 2007
Where Her Heart Is
By Theatre Development Fund

Kathleen Chalfant is attracted to political plays and writers, and the feeling is mutual. To wit: Howard Barker's epic "A Hard Heart.

October 28, 2007
Barely a Moment's Peace to Be Antiwar
By CELIA MCGEE, NY Times

The publicity for the play "A Hard Heart" calls Kathleen Chalfant an "actor and activist": she had come to the rehearsal from an antiwar demonstration at the United Nations.