There’s a mistaken belief out in the artistic
ether that in order for a show to be good, you must have only the best. (Best
actors, best set, best director, best script, etc.). While having any one of
those things can help (certainly they can’t hurt), in my experience quality
shows come about when all of the various elements exist in a kind of symbiotic
support system (i.e. the lighting supports the set supports the acting supports
the script). For an example of such a production that manages to hang together
as a cohesive whole, look to Simple Machine/Maiden Phoenix’s co-production
of Or, by Liz
Duffy Adams, now playing at Chelsea Theatre Works. It’s a production that as
far as I can tell, doesn’t put a single foot wrong through its ninety minute
run time.
Adams’ script takes inspiration from
the real life of Restoration-era English writer, Aphra Behn, who may or may not
have also worked as a spy for King Charles II. Although her plays may not be
commonly staged in present day (and perhaps Adams’
play can help fix that), she became a popular and prolific playwright working
just as women were (finally) being allowed to act on the English stage. But
while the roots of the play are in real life, Adams’
isn’t interested in serving up a history lesson. Rather, she uses Behn’s life
as a jumping off point for an inspired bit of comic fun.
The bulk of the play’s plot takes place on a single
night following Aphra being released from debtor’s prison by the newly crowned
King Charles II, (for whom, you’ll remember, she has previously acted as a
spy). Turning down the chance to be his mistress, she sets her sights on a
career in the theater, securing Charles as her secret patron. She begins work
on a new play that she hopes will star stage actress, Nell Dwynne (another
character plucked from history), with whom she shares a budding attraction. Then
Aphra’s co-spy ex-husband shows up warning of an assassination plot against
King Charles. Then King Charles shows up and warns Aphra that her husband has
double crossed her. Then theater owner Lady Davenant arrives, telling Aphra
that her company will produce Aphra’s new play but only if she finishes by nine
the following morning. On and on Adams’ script tosses in new developments that
I won’t spoil here (the joy is in watching them all play out), letting the
action build as we watch Aphra try to start her career, get rid of her
ex-husband and save the English monarchy (all in a day’s work, of course).
There’s a lot to admire in this production, not least
of all fantastic performances from the show’s three actors (who in total,
portray 7 characters). Michael Poignand is clearly having a ball bouncing
between the decadent King Charles and Aphra’s wily ex, William. Mid-show Kaylyn
Bancroft gets a gem of a comic monologue as Lady Davenant that she throws
herself into for all it’s worth, in addition to the wonderful layers she brings
to the soulful Nell Gwynne and the brusquer housemaid, Maira. And as the lynch
pin around which all of these characters fly, Anna Waldron never loses a beat
as Aphra Behn. Waldron brings a necessary sense of intelligence to a performance
that is also (and perhaps most importantly) very funny.
Kudos, as well, should be paid to director Adrienne
Boris for pulling all of the various strings together without letting the
various elements fly out of control. Despite the historical setting, Adams’
play is essentially a slamming doors farce (or, rather, a slamming curtain
farce) a la Boeing Boeing and
Boris’ clean and purposeful staging allows the actors to realize their full
comic potential and the play to build on its gathering energy. There were
several points in the show where Poignand and Bancroft switched between
characters so quickly I was convinced the actors must have clones hiding
backstage.
I must also draw attention to Liz Duffy Adams’
delightfully witty script. The plays begins in verse and when it gets going, Adams’ lines begin to hum as though electric. You can
enjoy the play for the freewheeling farce that it is, but as the characters
start to opine about how the present day (the 1600s) is wide open with new
opportunities for women in society, you may realize that there is a method to
this kind of madness. Part of Adams’ larger
point (I suspect) has to do with how she surrounds her protagonist with
characters that speak to different aspects of Aphra. Aphra could be a
playwright, or she could be the King’s mistress, or she could be a spy. She
could be double crossed. She could be a liar. She could be married. She could
be a traitor. She could be single. She could be straight. She could be a
lesbian. She could be in love. She could be in lust. Round and round the
possible outcomes go. At one point Lady Davenant remarks how tired she is of
these “Or” plays (trivia players will remember that Shakespeare’s full title
for one of his plays was Twelfth
Night or What you will). “Just pick one or the other” she says and Adams’ script makes the audience want to ask, “Why?” The
truth is that all of these possible identities are not as mutually exclusive as
they may seem. The only way to get a sense of the whole person is to give these
characters (particularly the women) the freedom to let all of these identities
and possibilities bounce and play off each other. Isn’t that the kind of
freedom we should all be fighting for?
Or, is playing at Chelsea Theatre Works September 8-23,
2017.