Pornography
Written by Simon Stephens
Directed by Robin Witt
at Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn (map)
thru Sept 3 | tickets: $20-$22 | more info
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Lives back by tragedy
Steep Theatre presents
Pornography
Review by Keith Ecker
We live in an age where the news cycle revolves at hyperspeed. Domestic issues usually have about month-long expiration date before they are buried. A world tragedy like the massacre in Norway, which left 77 dead and 96 injured, falls off the front page after a week’s time. So it may be a stretch for you to recall that during the first week of July 2005, Britain went through the best of times and the worst of time. This was the week of the Live 8 Concert, the G8 summit, the 2012 Olympic bid and the infamous London Underground bombings.
It is this week of tremendous highs and tragic lows that serves as the background for Simon Stephen‘s Pornography. Told through a series of monologues and two-person scenes, the somber piece details the lives of several Londoners during the time.
Steep Theatre‘s production incorporates the use of digital monitors, which introduce each scene with a number and frequently flash a hodgepodge of random images (for what reason I still don’t know). Scenes include an overworked mother (Kendra Thulin), a juvenile delinquent (Rudy Galvan), an incestuous brother-sister couple (Walter Briggs and Caroline Neff), one of the terrorists who perpetrated the attack (John Taflan), a student-teacher pair (Michael Salinas and Peter Moore) and a lonely widow (Maggie Cain). These scenes cover the full spectrum of human emotion, and each incorporates certain shared conventions, such as mentions of the Olympics bid and the Live 8 Concert. This helps to root the disparate scenes into the same reality.
Because the play is not your standard narrative, the success of the production depends largely on the quality of the acting. And overall, the acting is solid. Galvan delivers a standout performance as the mentally troubled young man who has a creepy crush on his teacher. Meanwhile, Cain’s portrayal of the lonely widow is imbued with convincing fragility. However, Briggs and Neff could take some more time developing some more chemistry to make their coupling seem more genuine. And Taflan does a good job regurgitating lines, but there isn’t enough feeling to view his character as fully fleshed out. Then again, perhaps a man who plans to detonate a bomb on a crowded train has managed to suppress all ability to feel real emotion.
Simon’s script is decent, and he does a good job of avoiding expositional clichés that usually bring down these types of monologue pieces. However, even though world tragedy occurs at an all-too frequent rate, the play lacks timelessness. The events that the characters mention are rooted deeply in 2005 Britain. Perhaps if I were English, more of this period would be lodged in my mind. But as an American in 2011, it’s all a vague memory.
Steep Theatre’s production of Pornography is an interesting bit of theatre that delivers several very powerful scenes. Because audience members may feel far removed from the subject matter, it may be difficult to connect with the narratives. Still, as we recently saw in Norway, this kind of senseless violence continues, making this play all the more relevant.
Rating: ★★½
Pornography continues through September 3rd at Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn, with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm. Tickets are $20-$22, and can be purchased by phone (866-811-4111) or online at OvationTix.com. More information at SteepTheatre.com.
All photos by Lee Miller
artists
cast
Peter Moore*, Caroline Neff*, Michael Salinas*, Walter Briggs, Maggie Cain, Rudy Galvan, Blake McKay, John Taflan, Kendra Thulin and Riley Moynihan (u/s)
behind the scenes
