BWW Reviews: Playwright Lisa Harris' Well-Drawn CIRCLES Spins Unending Loops of Accusations
Circles/by Lisa Harris/directed by Andrew Heffenan/ Bootleg Theater/thru March 28, 2015
In the world premiere of Circles, Andrew Heffenan ably directs his capable cast of two in their machine-gun deliveries of well-written, word-heavy dialogue. Circles opens with an almost Theater of Absurd quality of nonsensical discourse. Takes more than a few minutes of this 75-minute production before this incongruous exchange starts making any sense. Playwright Lisa Harris as "S" is unsympathetically off-putting as she questions "H" (Blake Adams) in circling riddles upon his early morning arrival home. This repetitive grilling by S finally reveals what she's actually asking H--Has he been cheating on her? Adams and Harris spar well with each other with Adams's H written much more level-headed than Harris's (self-written) S. She's more prone to mood swings from green-eyed accuser to wronged lover to clinging stalker. The two argue over whether he had just cheated with a 23-year-old. When he finally admits his wrongdoing, S asks for explicit blow-by-blows of their tryst. Then they have passionate sex. Post-coital, dialogue revolves back to the 23-year-old, with more blow-ups, new excuses, newer blames, and then, more passionate making out. The two's encircling each other with some practical logic and lots of hot-blooded lust becomes relentless as S's obsession with H suffocates him causing him no other alternative but to... (Don't want to give away the ending.)
Kudos to Adams' and Harris' strong commitments to their flawed, volatile characters. How interesting that playwright Harris has written a stronger, meatier, more grounded, more empathetic role for her male counterpart. S just seems to live for H, with no life of her own. And if lengthy descriptive discussions of going down fascinate you, Circles' definitely in your orbit.
Good use of lighting and efficient living room set, both by Emanuel Treeson. Intriguing posed tableaus of the two actors utilized a number of times between scenes.
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