Review: BLEEDING HEARTS at Theatrical Outfit

Theatrical Outfit’s world premier BLEEDING HEARTS written by Atlanta playwright Steve Yockey and directed by Sean Daniels starts with ferocious comedic momentum that feels equal parts Oscar Wilde on SNL, the 2014 Adult Swim cult TOO MANY COOKS, and a virtue signalers wrestling match. By the end of the play, it's understood that Yockey has once again made his mark on absurd metamoderism with a deeply unsettling metaphor about contemporary American life reflecting on itself, reflecting on itself, reflecting on itself forever.

The play wastes no time plunging the audience into its unruly universe. Sloane’s carefully managed reality begins to unravel when her husband, Timothy brings home a man he found sleeping outside who he calls "Old Blindy." Old Blindy happens to carry a knife that raises more questions than answers. As tensions mount, an anti-nosey neighbor pops in repeatedly, for an audience and whatever isn’t bolted down. The collision of class anxiety, moral injustice, and the soft and silent ways people choose to disassociate from empathy, stings and stains. Leave your egos at the door.

The cast attacks the material with tireless physical commitment. Veronika Duerr creates a subtly audacious Sloane and sets the tone with a nervous intensity so sticky she's still on your skin on the way home from the theatre. Christopher Hampton brings a beautifully uncomfortable sincerity to Timothy’s baffling choices. Tess Malis Kincaid’s entitled neighbor is wickedly provocative. And Tony Larkin turns the morbid joke "what-do-we-do-with-the-body" into an intrusive reality. 

The pacing is relentless and its unease simmers just beneath the surface thanks also to the talents of the design team. Costumes by April Andrew Carswell, Lighting by David Reingold, and sound by Dan Bauman elevates Yockey's manic meanings especially with Kat Conley’s scenic tricks.  

BLEEDING HEARTS is a bold and biting reframing that posits Narcissus not only orchestrated what he was doing to Echo for his own pleasure, but his sadism was intended to destroy himself all along. See BLEEDING HEARTS before it's gone!