Sometimes, I worry that I'm biased toward the spectacle of theatre - I love, love a big flashy show with all the bells and whistles. And then I see a show like 21ten Theatre's LAUGHING WILD, and I remember that really great theatre doesn't need any bells and whistles at all. A person in a chair delivering a 30-minute monologue can be just as riveting as a flying carpet, especially if that person is Brooke Totman and the script is LAUGHING WILD.
The play is a two-hander written in the 1980s by Christopher Durang. The characters are an unnamed man and an unnamed woman who have a strange encounter at a supermarket that causes them each to spin out of control in their own ways. She suffers from a mental illness and has difficulty relating to other people. He is struggling to stay positive despite the ever-present negative voices in his head, and also has difficulty relating to other people. They each deliver a monologue, and then come together in the final act.
Christopher Durang is an absurdist playwright, and this play is more than a little weird. But it's that kind of weird that somehow gets right to the heart of what it means to be human. Through these two characters - lonely people struggling to find connection - the play explores how fundamental empathy is to our existence. It's the only thing we really want in our interactions with others; at the same time, it's extremely hard for us to give to others, even when we know it's all they want from us. This play makes me want to be a better person.
The two actors in this production are Brooke Totman (a co-founder of 21ten Theatre) and Darius Pierce. I can't imagine two more perfect actors for these roles. Totman's performance is so raw, with her emotions so close to the surface, it's like her skin is just barely holding her insides together. Her monologue is a master class in inhabiting a character. Pierce brings an equal, if slightly more subdued, vulnerability to his character. I just wanted to hug him.
21ten is a new theatre company that has taken up residence in the space formerly known as the Shoebox Theatre. This is the first show from them I've seen, but if it's any indication of what's to come, I'd say we're in for many more treats.
LAUGHING WILD runs through October 29. I give it my absolute highest recommendation. More details and tickets here.
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