You’ll watch with rapt fascination. You’ll laugh at the most
improbable things and the most unlikely circumstances.
However, you may tire of sitting through a production that runs
almost three hours.
But if you do go to The Pillowman, the dark and provocative
play that’s E+A Productions’ first offering, you’ll exit the theater
having had your sensibilities given a good shake. It may take a while
to get your head screwed back on straight. But that’s a good thing.
The playwright, Martin McDonagh, is known for pushing the envelope
of black comedy. Though his plays have been criticized for their
violence and their warped humor, their intensity and brilliant language
have won the English-born Irishman plenty of acclaim. His screenplay
for In Bruges was nominated for an Oscar in 2008. The
Pillowman was nominated for a Tony for Best Play in 2005.
Some think that The Pillowman is a response to the criticism
of his earlier plays, all set in rural Ireland. Others see it as an
emphatic declaration of the necessity of artistic freedom. Whatever one
concludes—or doesn’t—about the point of The
Pillowman, it’s impossible to deny that when you purchase a ticket
and take your seat, you are in for one wild ride.
The story takes place in an ill-defined totalitarian state; the
authorities appear to police writers and nurture a lust for
torture.
Katurian (Jonathan Northover), a prolific writer, has been brought
in for questioning, although he can’t imagine why. His stories are not
political; however, his interrogators point out that many of his
stories involve the torture, mutilation and death of children. Yes, but
does this make him a bad man? Well, it might. There have been three
cases of murdered children in the town, and all three were executed in
fashions detailed by Katurian in his stories.
But he is just a storyteller, he declares. His stories are fiction;
they mean nothing. His stories deal with children and brutality, true,
but that doesn’t mean that he actually brutalizes real children. Does
it? Perhaps Katurian’s mentally deficient brother, Michal, also in
custody, was driven to commit such horrid acts at Katurian’s
urging.
And so questions raised by McDonagh begin to emerge. What
responsibilities does the artist have? Does art imitate life, or does
art manipulate life? Do we write our stories, or do our stories write
us?
To further complicate our thinking, we learn that as a child,
Katurian and Michal were the subjects of a bizarre experiment at the
hands of their parents. In an effort to nurture Katurian as a writer,
his parents tortured Michal in an adjoining bedroom, intending that
Katurian hear. Eventually, Katurian killed them to save his
brother.
McDonagh is having more than a bit of fun with all of this. And so
are we, although we are quite horrified that we are.
The extremes of this piece make it challenging to bring to life, and
despite some good performances, E+A does not make The Pillowman the stunner it could be.
Noteworthy is Brian Wees’ portrayal of Michal. It’s a difficult role
requiring a sensitive approach, and Wees excels. Northover, as
Katurian, provides a grounded, sympathetic character with a
naturalistic bearing, but his Katurian is rather bland. He lacks the
energy—and depth—that should drive the story. Without this
energy, the production grinds rather than charges.
Also problematic are the interrogation scenes that bookend the play.
Director Eugenia Woods has made an odd choice by casting Richard Chaney
as Tupolski, the chief interrogator. Is this an actor simply in over
his head, or is his puzzling characterization—he plays Tupolski
as a bitchy queen—Woods’ idea? Whatever the answer, his
interrogation scenes are deficient and fail to launch the play’s
action.
Cecil Averett has composed some wonderful music, but during some
scenes, it’s played at a very low volume. It’s not clear whether that’s
on purpose or whether it’s the result of some mistake or technical
problem.
Also distracting is the director’s decision to flash animations from
time to time on a small screen above the set. Suggested by Katurian’s
stories, the animations are an interesting idea, but their use is so
limited, they don’t really enhance the production.
The Pillowman is a strange, difficult and intriguing play,
and E+A gives it a sincere effort. The new company was brave to tackle
it as its premiere production; that courage shows that this group is
one to watch.
This article appears in Nov 26 – Dec 2, 2009.
