BWW Reviews: Scena's Complicated HANDBAG Seeks to Channel Wilde and Explore the Notion of Parenthood

Do any parents ever get child-rearing 100 percent right? What does it mean to be considered a family in the era when the nuclear family seems to be slowly disappearing? Mark Ravenhill explores the notion of parenthood in his complicated and confused drama Handbag currently making its DC première at Scena Theatre.

Handbag is rich with dramatic moments but ultimately never settles on whether it wants to be a prequel to The Importance of Being Earnest or a statement on parenthood in the twentieth century. The play is set in London but in two different time periods that only somewhat interact, the 1860s and roughly a century later in the late 1990s.

First is the story of Mauretta (Anne Nottage) who has just had a child with her partner Suzanne (Amanda Forstrom), thanks to their sperm donor and friend Tom (Edward Nagel). While Mauretta's pregnant, Suzanne engages in a brief make-out session with Lorraine (Haely Jardas), an unstable work acquaintance. At the same time, Tom's boyfriend David (Grary West) develops a passionate, sex-filled, relationship with a junkie named Phil (Robert Sheire).

Obscuring matters is the second story of the Moncrieff family living in 1860s London told through flashbacks. These moments are interspersed throughout the play, and are meant to serve as a prequel to The Importance of Being Earnest. It is these scenes, along with the David/Phil and Suzanne/Lorraine's romantic encounters, which serve as the catalyst for the play's examination of parenthood and society. Calling Handbag's plot complicated is an understatement.

If you've never seen The Importance of Being Earnest, then Handbag may be confusing. Oscar Wilde's 1895 play had characters using fictional experiences to escape problems which they were confronted with. In Handbag, Ravenhill unsuccessfully tries to employ a similar technique.

A key issue is that the 1990 and 1860 scenes often seem like parallel narratives on child-rearing from the perspective of Victorian-era and 1990s London. Not until midway through the show, in a scene involving Phil, is Ravenhill able to successfully establish the escapist nature of the characters. By this time, we are a bit perplexed by the mixing of Handbag's two worlds causing its message to become muddled.

Robert McNamara's capable direction tries hard to overcome Handbag's structural problem. He's successful in fully displaying the psychological and emotional issues of the characters. However, for the play to achieve its full potential the setup between the 1860s and 1990s needs to be better explained.

Sheire gives a standout performance with his disturbed and tormented portrayal of Phil. We are able to see how addiction has turned Phil's world into a walking nightmare. Sheire provide us with a glimpse into the internal wrestling match between the demons which fuels Phil's escape into the Moncrieff household.

The rest of the cast pulls double-duty portraying characters in both the present and flashbacks scenes. West is excellent as the sexually charged, self-centered David and the blustery Moncrieff. Jardas has terrific chemistry with Sheire as the equally unstable Lorraine and precise Miss Prism.

Perhaps the most interesting character contrast embodied by the same performer is that of Suzanne and Constance, matriarch of the Moncrieff household, portrayed by Forstrom. With three simple words, "I feel nothing," Forstrom's Contance delivers the plays most heartbreaking line. The contrast is provided in Constance's indifference to her new baby and Suzanne's determination not to let a brief encounter with Lorraine ruin her child's family life.

Nagel and Nottage give fine performances as Mauretta and Tom, although it's in the 1860's scenes where they both get to showcase their talents. As Constance's sister, Agatha, Nottage indulges in her character's desperate farcical desire to be married and not simply seen as an old maid.

Megan Holeva's wonderful period specific costumes help in defining the specific eras of each scene. Dialect Coach Jessica Hansen has done a terrific job ensuring that the cast sounds authenticity British.

Handbag is described as being the embodiment of the confrontational; "in-yer-face" theatre genre. The play isn't so much provocative as it is confused. Does it want to be a statement on parenting, prequel to The Importance of Being Earnest or a tale on the evolution of the modern family? It has plenty of promise, but for Handbag to succeed it needs to better develop its message and conception of Wilde's escapism techniques. Scena does its best to stage this complicated drama, but can't overcome the play's limitations.

Runtime: One hour and 50 minutes with no intermission.

Warning: This play contains coarse language, brief nudity, adult themes and sexuality.

Handbag is currently running thru November 30 at the Scena Theatre - 2020 Shannon Place, Washington, DC 20020. For more information and tickets please visit the Scena Theatre's website: http://www.scenatheater.org/

Photo: Haely Jardas and Robert Sheire in Handbag. Credit: Jae Yi Photography