Saturday, February 15, 2020

Anatomy of a Suicide

B

After an acclaimed run at the Royal Court and a Blackburn Prize, British playwright Alice Birch’s ambitious experimental play is now in previews at Atlantic Theater Company. Birch (Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again) certainly does not make things easy for the audience. There are three different scenes, each from a different time period, being performed simultaneously onstage. Occasionally scenes coalesce with the same dialogue occurring in all three. To further complicate things, five of the ten actors play multiple roles. In addition, two of the characters are played by more than one actor. The links between the characters in the simultaneous scenes only gradually become clear. I don’t want to give too much away here. The three leading characters, Carol (Carla Gugino; After the Fall, A Kid Like Jake), Anna (Celeste Arias; Uncle Vanya at Hunter) and Bonnie (Gabby Beans; Marys Seacole), all suffer from emotional problems. The author seems to be suggesting that depression and a tendency to attempt suicide can be inherited. While I certainly give her credit for ambition, I sometimes found it difficult to divide my attention three ways. Attempting to tell three stories involving 22 characters does not allow much time to develop a character in any depth. The fine cast also included Jason Babinsky (Network), Ava Briglia (School of Rock), Julian Elijah Martinez (Network), Jo Mei (The World of Extreme Happiness), Vince Nappo (The Jew of Malta), Miriam Silverman (Junk, A Delicate Ship) and Richard Topol (Indecent, Fish in the Dark). The sparse set by Mariana Sanchez (Marys Seacole) includes scattered plants and bushes of varying size that seemed a bit incongruous. Kaye Voyce’s (True West, After the Blast) costumes are a great help in creating the characters. Director Lileana Blain-Cruz (Red Speedo, The House That Will Not Stand) deserves much credit for making the multiple components run like clockwork. While I was initially fascinated by the play’s challenges, I was rarely moved. While I admired it, I didn’t find it truly satisfying. Running time: one hour 45 minutes, no intermission.


NOTE: Avoid seats in Row B at the Linda Gross Theater; there is no rise between Rows A and B.

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