BWW Reviews: SET's RATTLESNAKES Strikes Fast, Then Slows Down

Graham Farrow's Rattlesnakes, now in its western United States premiere at Springs Ensemble, doesn't waste time. No sooner have the house lights gone down than a man walks into a seedy motel room, where three masked men beat him, tie him up, and demand to know (in the most blunt and indelicate of terms) if he's been sleeping with their wives.

Meet Robert McQueen (Oscar Robinson), professional gigolo, who makes a good living providing various forms of companionship to the ladies of this nameless north England town. Now Richie (Dylan Mosley), Jamie (Jonathan Andujar), and Jed (Kyle Urban) have discovered their spouses' arrangements with McQueen and want revenge, or answers, or most of all to reassert the masculinity they feel this well-dressed interloper has threatened. After all, if their women have turned elsewhere for satisfaction, what does that say about them as men?

Yeah, it's obvious-these guys don't really know their wives. But just as important, they don't really know McQueen, each other, or even themselves. Rattlesnakes' strong first act gradually strips away the violent bravado of the three husbands to reveal the fear and sensitivity they've been conditioned to hide. And McQueen? He seems on the surface the perfect lover, offering gentleness and understanding to his clients and speaking warmly of his wife and kids back home, but Robinson's sly smile as he gradually gains control of the situation hints that he too isn't all he seems. The cast develops their roles wonderfully, with Andujar making a solid impression as the most brutish of the husbands. Steve Emily's direction is physical, confrontational, and intense, and the intimacy of SET's space makes it feel even more so (take note: audience members in the front row may feel uncomfortably close to the action). And June Scott Barfield has designed a perfectly run-down setting for this grim, gritty tale-you can almost smell the musty decay and illicit sex emanating from the faded bedding.

This high level of passion is very difficult to maintain, however, and Rattlesnakes sags a bit during its second act, which deals with the secret desires of Richie's wife (LeAnne Carrouth). And while the climax is appropriately shocking and gruesome, Farrow's final twist feels like one turn of the screw too many. Perhaps it's because that after being relentlessly confronted with the fact that nobody is as they seem, not much can surprise us anymore.

The regional premiere of RATTLESNAKES plays now through October 26th at Springs Ensemble Theatre, 1903 E Cache La Poudre St. Performances are Thursday-Saturday at 7:30pm, with Sunday matinees October 19th and 26th at 4:00. For tickets, call 719-357-3080 or visit springsensembletheatre.org.