Two old friends, their bonds apparently fractured by despair at a collapsing world or something else entirely, meet again. One is artistic and the other is a practical man, a businessman. Are they both pragmatists? That’s the question posed by Trap Door’s latest adventure, The Pragmatists, by avant-garde playwright Stanislaw I. Witkiewicz. Director Zeljko Djukic brings the style he honed as founder of Tuta Theatre Company, directing European marsters such as Brecht, Ibsen and Chekhov, to choreograph this stylish and often mystifying play.
The artistic man is Plasfodor, who begins the story by sitting on the stage floor to play a vibraphone for us (or maybe it’s a glockenspiel). Kevin Webb, who plays Plasfodor, is a master of agility and physical humor. His businessman frenemy is Count Von Telek (played by a smartly dressed Keith Surney, who informs us frequently that he’s “healthy as a bull”). The two characters argue, sometimes fight and then dance together.
The story is paused now and then as the Gendarmes appear to comment upon the nature of drama, the theater and storytelling. Early in the play, they introduce the five characters, focusing on thei physical appearances. (The Gendarmes are played by fancifully dressed and made-up Caleb Jenkins and Hannah Silverman.) Early in the play the Gendarmes come out to announce that “If any theatre does decide to stage this play, we would like to ask the director and actors for … no attempts to make anything stranger than it already is in the text by means of setting, atmosphere, hit-them-in-the-guts gimmicks, and an abnormal method of delivering the lines .…” So much for that.
Although Plasfodor tells us at one point that he loves life, it’s not long before he bemoans the nature of his existence, saying “The infernal banality of existence. It's four o'clock in the afternoon. Then there'll be supper, then an orgy, then a seance, then the nightly bad dreams, then the usual dose of pills to give us strength to go on. Oh, it's unbearable!”
His lover Mammalia (Venice Averyheart), performs gracefully, hears well but is mute. Another character is Rebis (fascinatingly played by David Lovejoy). Rebis is described by the Gendarmes as a “Sexless person, tending more however to the female side, a blonde with a high brush cut, slender and slight, very thin ankles, movements full of grace.” Rebis becomes involved with Von Telek.
The fifth character is Mummy, played by the startling Manuela Rentea, now topped with a mountainous structure of silver hair. The Gendarmes describe her as speaking “with a woman's voice, but as though it had been filtered through a few cellars.” That eerie effect is achieved by Mummy speaking into a mic hanging from the ceiling. (Sound design by Danny Rockett.)
Zeljko Djukic’s direction deals easily with the madness and delivers a play that is visually stunning and imaginatively choreographed. Miguel Long is movement consultant. The stage is divided into half a dozen vertical sections by transparent dividers and a few vertical rope curtains. Scenic design and costumes are by Natasha Djukic with props by Merje Veski and lighting by Richard Norwood. Original music is by Natasha Bogojevic.
The Pragmatists was Witkiewicz’s first published play. The current translation is by Daniel Gerould, adapted by Adam Ranđelović.
Do the two sometimes warring sides—Plasfodor and Von Telek—represent countries at war or about to be at war? Does Mammalia represent the countries of Eastern Europe—the Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria and the Austro-Hungarian Empire—that were silenced and divided up into chaotic ruins? The play was written in 1919, after Germany surrendered at the end of WWI, a surrender that was resented by the Germans and led to the rise of Nazism and WWII. Witkiewicz, who died in 1939, was known for his critiques of mass culture and totalitarianism. Or maybe The Pragmatists is just meant to be an entertaining evening of theater. Somehow I doubt that.
The Pragmatists continues at Trap Door Theatre, 1655 W. Cortland St., through October 28. Running time is about 75 minutes with no intermission. Tickets are $30 for performances Thursday-Saturday. A special event performance (tickets are $35) will be on Saturday, October 7, followed by a talkback with the director, actors and other artists involved. Wine and cheese will be served.
For more information on this and other plays, see theatreinchicago.com.
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