strangers, babies
Written by Linda McLean
Directed by Brad Akin
at Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn (map)
thru March 1 | tickets: $20-$22 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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What kind of scrutiny should childhood killers face as adults?
Steep Theatre presents
strangers, babies
Review by Katy Walsh
Once again, Steep goes darker than imaginable. In its newest production, Steep introduces Chicago to Playwright Linda McLean. This time, instead of an English play riddled with angst, McLean pens a Scottish play riddled with angst. The breakout is Steep’s classic structure: five scenes, two actors in each, one riveting story.
McClean’s play is inspired by the criminal acts of children. In the Steep lobby, information on the trials of Jon Venables, Robert Thompson and Mary Bell is available. In the program, Brad Akin also uses his director’s notes to grapple with the redemption of children that murder. Are they monsters? Or are they capable of healthy and happy adulthoods? I highly recommend a lobby perusal or googling the trio above prior to the play. Reading about the heinous past will be the platform for observing the child as an
McClean peppers the script with limited mentions of May’s childhood. The focus is who she is now. The audience plays judge in dissecting the rehabilitation of a grown-up felon. In the first scene, Sasha Gioppo (May) is overly concerned with a hurt bird. Right away, the stereotype of a killer is challenged. Under Akin’s masterful direction, Gioppo subtly exposes herself in all her interactions. In particular, scenes with a forceful Peter Moore (Roy) and a frantic Andrew Burden Swanson (Denis) build sympathy for the forlorn Gioppo. Yet, in a final scene, the probing Ian Paul Custer (Able) makes the character determination precarious.
Akin paces the production with seamless scene transitions. The impressive Gioppo is in every scene, but with different clothing (costumes designed by Emily Tarleton). In his theatre in the round, Akin has Gioppo exit a scene and then enter from a different angle. The Set Designers Jessica Kuehnau Wardell and Brandon Wardell dangle branches from the ceiling. What happened in the woods twenty years ago is only verbally hinted at with the set serving as an ongoing visual reminder.
In strangers, babies, Steep pulls you into their dark woods and forces you to confront your own prejudices. What kind of scrutiny should childhood killers face as adults? Although I still don’t know, the life represented in strangers, babies is highly disturbing.
Rating: ★★★
strangers, babies continues through March 1st at Steep Theatre, 1115 W. Berwyn (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 3pm. Tickets are $20-$22, and are available by phone (866-811-4111) or online through OvationTix.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at SteepTheatre.com. (Running time: 90 minutes, no intermission)
Photos by Lee Miller
artists
cast
Peter Moore, John Byrnes, Ian Paul Custer, Sandy Elias, Sasha Gioppo, Andrew Burden Swanson
behind the scenes
Brad Akin (director), Julia Siple (production manager), Lauren Lassus (stage manager), Emily Tarleton (costume design), Jessica Kuehnau Wardell, Brandon Wardell (set design), Rebecca Barrett (lighting design), Rick Sims (sound design), Maria DeFabo (props design), Adam Goldstein (dialect coach), Rebecca Willingham (asst. director), Julie Allen (tech director), Lee Miller (photos).
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