20th Annual Festival of Independent Theatres
Landscape: Pinter so often deals in the detached and obtuse, the detailed rumination. Beth sits on one chair, Duff, another. Apart from one another. Each delivers an extended monologue. Beth describes wandering the beach asking various men if they’d like to have a baby (with her?) . Duff recalls a trip to the park when he sought shelter from a cloudburst, where he watched a young couple get soaked. Each character’s anecdote culminates in a visit to a pub, where their paths may or may not have intersected. Of course the way they are placed on the stage inclines us to create a connection between the two, whether one exists or not. Perhaps the counterpoint puts Duff and Beth’s isolation in high relief. Whay constitutes a couple, or even a friendship? Landscape refers to the content of each monologue, both of which express a kind of aching. A longing for something. You might say Pinter has a penchant for dialogue that dances around the periphery, without letting the characters speak the personal truth behind their words. If you told a friend about your dog’s illness, how much might you reveal of your connection to the world, your anger, your despair, without that intention? Somehow Pinter could make you weep, if only by sharing the recipe for shortbread. Director Susan Sargeant, Van Quattro, and Moira Wilson have knocked this out of the park.
Suckers: playwright Devin Berg has crafted a pensive comedy exploring the nature of romance and life’s purpose. Jane, Holden, Alex and Daisy are friends, Daisy and Alex get married, the four gravitate towards one another, connecting in one way or another, while pondering the underlying emotions that inform their choices and behavior. No one seems to be where they want to be or partnered as they’d wish. Berg uses their situation as a springboard to elucidate darker, deeper core issues, and perhaps nudge the cogs and wheels in our brain. It’s quite engaging, but not altogether clear how much Suckers clarifies or actualizes the salient question: does destiny preclude intelligent decisions? Should intuition go before intellect? The cast performances (Natalie Hope Johnson, Josh Bangle, Matthew Allan Holmes, Cameron Casey) are fresh, intriguing and spontaneous.
The Tragical Farce of Jimmy Pine: Playwright Ben Schroth delivers an absorbing, tongue-in-cheek spin on Pinocchio, setting it in the dystopian future of 2045. Jimmy is a “synthetic” sex worker who succumbs to acts undeniably degrading, with a chipper smile. Jimmy wants to be a real boy, but his devotees (including his pimp) roll their eyes, and assure him humanity is a far cry from his idealized notions. Their conflict of interest, of course, doesn’t mean their wrong. Like Rabe and Albee, Schroth brings an erudite, absurd (which is not to say Absurdist) feel to the tawdry, luring us into subtext, and more cosmic considerations. Imagine Gravity’s Rainbow, through the lens of Kukla, Fran and Ollie. When a client tells Jimmy he’s into scat, and Jimmy responds with all the enthusiasm of an Eagle Scout, you chuckle, but we should be distraught. Schroth has mastered the art of fierce, nonchalant comedy that teeters on the cusp between hilarity and grief.
BruNO and lOUie: Jeffrey Colangelo (Director of Prism Movement Theatre) fashioned this comedic pantomime for two, but calling Bruno and Louie a mime show is like calling Superman a guy in a cape. It’s accurate, and it’s not. Louie and Bruno are buddies, and they seek the rarer air of celebrity and wealth.Rafael Tamayo and Omar Padilla have such poise and grace, such ease and feel for what tickles and sets us free to break out in laughter. They take you out of your head. They squash misery with aplomb. They pull “volunteers” from the audience and create merriment. The best physical farce is like Country Music, if its good enough, it transcends the genre.PM is your last chance Bruno and Louie takes us to the realm of genius, where the performers don’t just know what to do, it’s in their bones. Tonight, at 8 PM is your last chance. Get drenched in glee.
The Festival of Independent Theatres plays July 13th through August 4th, 2018, at The Bath House Cultural Center. 521 East Lawther Drive, Dallas, Texas 75218. (800) 617-6904. www.festivalofindependenttheatres.org