Consisting of two one acts by Caryl Churchill, Drunk Enough To Say I Love You? / Here We Go explores nationalism and the allure of alphas and how we process death, respectively. Explained by director Alex Organ in the program notes, the two should not be taken as operating in tandem, or a single context, but autonomous and distinct.
Drunk Enough To Say I Love You? somewhat suggests an S & M, B & D connection between Sam (a country) and Guy (a man). It conflates loyalty and submission with patriotism. We find Sam and Guy in a state of post-coital intoxication, when Drunk Enough opens. Their chemistry is amiable enough. Their conversation has the feel of young boys, extolling the exhilaration of battle strategies. Gradually though, Sam (the alpha) becomes more dominant. With an unsettling, zealous gleam in his eye, he pronounces a litany of specific annihilations, atrocities, collateral civilian deaths. Guy goes along as best he can, but whenever he interjects a note of humanity, or hesitation, or alleviation, Sam threatens to walk away. He gets angry. Before long, subtle elements of restraint, torture and degradation take over. Love is no longer about love, it’s about surrendering to the will of the stronger party. It’s about conceding trust against better judgment. Churchill depicts the withholding of care and validation from the dominant male as the means to gain leverage.
Here We Go is Churchill’s reflection on what it means to be mortal. (Divided into three parts: Here we go, After, and Getting there.) We hear guests at a funeral, gossiping and remarking on the life of the deceased. No one seems especially solemn, even when each one places a single flower in a vessel, and briefly explains the circumstances, when their time arrives. Then we watch and listen as the deceased gropes his way through the next realm after death. He delivers an ongoing, fragmented monologue, as he tries to sort through the sensations of his posthumous experience. It’s not particularly comforting.
Finally we bear witness as a caretaker dresses and undresses the deceased, surmising this is something he cannot do on his own. Each time the ritual is repeated, it seems to be harder and harder on this elderly gentlemen. A passive struggle, if you will. The caretaker hums a tune, applies herself to the task, slaps at his hand, if it gets in the way.
There are certain patterns in these narratives. When characters finish one another’s sentences, there’s an urgency, a kind of intrusion. One cannot express a complete thought before the other jumps in. Is there a need to connect? An imperative to hurry things along? In both Drunk Enough, and Here We Go, we seem to occupy a secular vacuum. Even when God is mentioned (is He mentioned?) He doesn’t seem present or at least sentiently acknowledged. There’s a buffer, an equanimity to events. Yes, certain points in the story are salient, but we gather this through content rather than attention Churchill brings to them. It’s as if she imbues the human experience with a different texture. The drama stirs in the unspoken.
Second Thought Theatre presents Drunk Enough To Say I Love You? / Here We Go playing June 5th-29th, 2019. Bryant Hall at the Kalita Humphreys Theater. 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd, Dallas, Texas 75219. 866-811-4111. info@secondthoughttheatre.com