Thu. October 6, 2005
By John Olson
Recent Tragic Events
Uma Productions
When this production was announced just over a week before the series finale of Six Feet Under and I noticed that author Craig Wright was one of the writers of that series, I wasted no time in making plans to see it. Recent Tragic Events shares many of the qualities I enjoyed of Six Feet Under, like its keen eye for contemporary life, exploration of philosophical themes and ability to move between easily between realistic drama and a more freeform style.
Wright first makes a case for the philosophy of determinism, showing how we face many forks in our road each day, moments where our choices impact subsequent events. We can stay or we can go, say yes or no, order pizza in or go out to a restaurant. To show this he has an actor as "stage manager" announce that the cast, borrowing a technique from improv, has two scripts to perform. Their choice of script will be determined through a coin toss by a member of the audience and a buzzer will announce each moment in which the two scripts deviate. The buzzers get irritating rather quickly and their purpose is not clear until the second act, in which Wright argues the alternative philosophy of fatalism - in which all significant events are believed to be inevitable.
The relaxed, natural performances of the cast are set among a realistic environmental set by Brian Sidney Bembridge, in which the audience is entirely surrounded by the four walls of Waverly's apartment, with the luckier audience members sitting in sofas and arm chairs. Its furnishings are easily recognizable as those of an early-career professional in a rented apartment and the costumes by Aly Greaves ring true in the same manner.
All this realism is set in contrast to Wright's explicitly theatrical devices, using the script of his play as an analogy for fatalism. Are the fates of our lives as predetermined as those of the characters in the script? Or do we subscribe to a philosophy of determinism, in which every event is caused by an unbroken chain of prior occurrences, as he would seem to be suggesting through the buzzer device? Recent Tragic Events may have one or two devices too many, but in this production, it's an entertaining and stimulating evening.
Recent Tragic Events, at the www.umaproductions.orgChopin Theatre, 1543 W. Division, Chicago; will be performed Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays at 7:30 PM, and Sundays at 3 PM through October 15, 2005. Tickets, $15.00, are available by calling 773.347.1375, visiting www.umaproductions.org or at HotTix. There is an added industry show on Monday, September 26, at 7:30 PM. Tickets for the industry show on 9/26 are $5.00 with presentation of a resume/headshot/card.
Photo courtesy: www.umaproductions.org
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