Isaac, a dishonorably discharged Marine, returns home to find his dad, Arnold, dressed in some grotesque version of drag, and virtually incoherent. His sister, Max, is in the process of transitioning from female to male. His mother, Paige (perky and menacing) is experiencing one epiphany after another, once she’s no longer constrained by traditional gender paradigms. Considering her supposed declaration of independence for all, she’s incredibly pushy and contentious. After a history of egregious abuse from her husband, she’s keeping him subservient through medication, and primitive female attired. For the purpose of humiliating him. [One of the 12 Labors of Hercules was very similar.] Whether or not you believe retaliation amounts to justice, you have to wonder why she doesn’t just kick him out, or slit his throat.
Hir (prounced “here”) feels like a black comedy of checks and balances. Isaac is the non-toxic version of virility and Max, the more nuanced version of gender transition. Paige seems enlightened, but the further we get, the more she uses cultural sea change as an excuse to torture, dominate and shame. Max might be a bit touchy, but ze’s not a bully. When Isaac arrives home, the house has succumbed to nearly utter chaos. If he tries to impart some order (for the sake of sanity) Paige won’t let him. Nearly all the conflict in Hir emerges from territorial bouts between Isaac and his mother.
Playwright Taylor Mac may be using imitative fallacy. Husband Arnold might very well have used housekeeping as means of subjugation, so it’s not unreasonable that Paige would reject it. That being said, she doesn’t want anyone else to do it, either. The characters struggle with gender identity, though on the face of it, Isaac seems most secure. He has no issues with Domestic Maintenance, and only interferes when Paige degrades his dad. In broader strokes, Arnold, Isaac, Max and Paige all represent different gender views. Arnold wielded the toxic version of manhood, while Isaac, though a marine, drove an ambulance. Paige is the sunshiney, albeit angry mom, while Max has found a way to navigate hir aggression. Isaac, Arnold and Max all fall somewhere along the “male” spectrum. Mac has created a perfect storm, conflicts arise when archetypes collide.
A successful play needn’t answer all the questions it raises, but it does need some kind of takeaway. With Hir, it’s hard to tell. Perhaps it’s: Solutions are impossible without compromise. Or: There is no one answer to conundrum. Perhaps Taylor Mac is stirring the pot. It’s like a recipe for food that doesn’t exist. In my experience, the problem has less to do with gender itself, then trying to define it with attributes. Maybe Mac understands that gender is an infinite mystery, and any attempt to fracture it by opposition is beside the point.
Stage West presents: Hir, playing My 17th-June 17th, 2018. 821 West Vickery Blvd, Fort Worth, Texas 76104. (817) 784-9378. www.stagewest.org