Review: PORN (Theatre Y)

  
  
PORN 

Written by András Visky
Directed by Éva Patkó  
Theatre Y Studio, 1317 W. Chicago (map)
thru Dec 2  |  tickets: $20   |  more info
  
Check for half-price tickets 
  
  
   Read entire review
  

---

PORN is a full sensory explosion

Theatre Y presents

PORN

Review by Katy Walsh 

Theatre Y presents the world premiere of PORN.  It’s Romania in 1989.  The country is in duress.  The people are protesting the Communist regime under the dictatorship of Nicolae Ceausescu. The government is using espionage to uncover the rebel forces.  The Girl, code name: Porn, is under suspicion.  Her relationship with The Man is being monitored.  The Man has familial ties to the political revolution. Is she crazy or is someone trying to kill her or him? Is she dramatic like an actor or is she really a loon? PORN is a full sensory explosion.

Theatre Y is staging this in a raw warehouse loft. The air is musty and cold. Seats have makeshift pillows, and blankets are available for the chilliness. In the corner, a black and white television projects real footage of protests in the town square. Upon arrival, the experience has already transported us back to another time, another place, another life. Melissa Lorraine (The Girl) starts the show with a vivid monolog about her tiny skeleton. An intense Lorraine impressively delivers long litanies of poetic meets paranoid. Lorraine engages with expressive eyes and an unhinged personality. Her activity is projected by a camera in actual time pausing on semi-permanent still shots. Some of the imagery is multiplied and even mirrored. The visual is cool. It effectively builds the intrigue around surveillance. Under the direction of Éva Patkó, the activity on stage is often abrupt and surprising. Characters disappear and appear into the backdrop or under the floor. The tight ensemble delivers plenty of mysterious wallop in their dealings with Lorraine. An amusing Evan Hill is the opposite of 007 with his clunky, spy persona. An animated Ezra Colón matches Lorraine’s wacko passion. And quirky Stanley – no last name and a bio that says; ”needs no introduction” – looms in the background.

Playwright András Visky wrote PORN anchored in his own experiences of the Romanian revolution. That is certainly apparent. There is something deeply personal and sad about this show. But even within the desolation of the historical event, hope is present that most likely comes from the author’s hindsight. Visky is also a poet and much of Lorraine’s dialog is an awakening sonnet. It’s beautifully complex and sometimes confusing. The show is abstract, but reading the program helps puzzle the real story together.

PORN. It felt cold. It smelled musty. It sounded lyrical. It looked like performance art. And it tasted like a shot of _ _ _ _ _? …I don’t know. I didn’t get a glass of what was passed to audience members. PORN is not what you imagine. Though it’s mostly someone else’s unimaginable reality, it fills the senses with a profound understanding.

Rating: ★★★

PORN continues through December 2nd at Theatre Y Studio, 1317 W. Chicago (map), with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays at 3pm.  Tickets are $20, and are available by phone (708-209-0183) or online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at Theatre-Y.com.  (Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission)

---

artists

cast

Ezra Colón, Evan Hill, Melissa Lorraine, Stanley

behind the scenes

Éva Patkó (director); Erzsebet Daray, Ailisha O’Sullivan (translators)

12-1108