Entertainment :: Theatre
Gagarin Way by Jennifer Bubriski
EDGE ContributorFriday Apr 1, 2005 In a perfect world, the language of theatre is universal. But in reality, what resonates in one country often rings hollow in another. Such unfortunately is the case with “Gagarin Way”, a Scottish black comedy that’s getting its American premier with the Sugan Theatre Company. Although the humor comes through loud and clear, the philosophy and politics at the center of the play doesn’t travel well to this side of the pond.
“Gagarin Way” follows Eddie and Gary, two hapless kidnappers, their victim and the unwitting security guard who thinks he’s getting paid to look the other way while the crooks lift a few boxes of computer chips. Gary’s a socialist, a power-to-the-people type of guy who’s followed the nature progression of participating in riots to abducting a symbol of multinational capitalism (he way trying for a Japanese executive, too bad the guy he nabbed grew up just one town over), while Eddie just really likes violence.
The play starts out strong. Ciaran Crawford as Eddie commands the stage and is incredibly fun to watch (but isn’t the sociopath always the most interesting character?) as he alternates between debating the philosophical merits of Jean Paul Sartre and Jean Genet and tries to convince sad-sack security guard Tom, who’s a vastly underemployed university graduate, that he’d be better off dead (“Fantastic option suicide, we’re lucky to have it” he comments gleefully). When Rick Park as Gary, with his hangdog countenance, troops in with the unconscious abductee, Frank, the energy among the actors crackles and the slyly witty dialogue zips along, despite a few pacing stumbles that may smooth out after the first couple of performances.
However, when the story turns darker and the talk turns more to politics, “Gagarin Way” loses something in the translation. The heart of the story is the triumph of economics over politics in the U.K. The lure of capitalist lucre has proved to be a bit much for working man, and the protests over taxes and working conditions have petered out, replaced by complacency. Gary’s boast that his and Eddie’s efforts “might make political violence fashionable again is reasonably amusing to U.S. audiences, but can’t hope to tweak the same shared sense of history that it can in the playwright’s native country. Socialism and communism never made the inroads here the way they did in Western Europe (the play takes its name from a road in Edinburgh that was named for the communist cosmonaut. It’s interesting that Gary and Eddie can be doing the same thing for such different reasons, but Gary’s disillusionment of what the kidnapping might hope to achieve doesn’t make the impact that you get the feeling author Gregory Burke wanted it to.
Aside from how well the script plays in the U.S., this production of “Gagarin Way” has some serious flaws. Yes, the actors’ execution of the comedy is good, and the Scottish accents rarely make it hard to understand. There are some fine performances from Crawford and Park, and Dafydd Rees plays Frank with an eloquently quiet resignation. Rodney Raftery as security guard Tom is best when he’s tied up and communicating everything with his expressive face and good comic timing. When unfettered, he flails a bit, making an awkward contrast against the very natural performances of the other actors, and his Scottish accent slips far too often.
The biggest problem with the production is its violence. It feels out of place, but it’s hard to tell whether that’s because it doesn’t fit in with the otherwise jaunty tone of the show or because so much of it is really poorly executed. Really, when it’s easy to see the actor hit his palm rather than another character’s head and when the stage blood is an unconvincing shade of orange-brown, you’ve got problems.
Despite brisk pacing from director Brendan Hughes (the show plays a fast 90 minutes without intermission) and some great performances, especially from Crawford, “Gagarin Way” just doesn’t gel.
Through April 23, at Robert Studio Theatre, Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts
Jennifer has an opinion on pretty much everything and is always happy to foist it upon others.
|
|
|
Email
Print
Share