Through the Leaves
Written by F.X. Kroetz
Translated by Roger Downey
Directed by Andy Hager
Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis (map)
thru Feb 1 | tickets: $15-$20 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
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Pleasures and horrors of the flesh
Side Project Theatre presents
Through the Leaves
Review by Kat Hey
Once in a great while I will come upon a production that gives me a visceral reaction of recognition, empathy, and repulsion. The Side Project Theatre production of Through the Leaves shoots out of the gate for 2014 as an early contender for one of the best.
The play takes place in 1976 Germany in an unnamed town. At that time Germany was still divided by The Berlin Wall, and there was a decidedly industrial image given to that part of the world. It was in the land of “the Iron Curtain” which has onomatopoeia that still clangs in my consciousness.
Ward’s performance as Otto is chilling and brilliantly oafish. There is an undercurrent of anger and rage in Otto that Ward modulates perfectly. One wonders what heinous thing he’s going to do next; what filth and debasement will emerge from his mouth. Ward’s portrayal of Otto’s arrogance and misogyny is piercing and never over the top, as he condescends to Martha, considering himself a great catch. She is lucky in his eyes to be getting the domineering and sometimes vicious sexual attention. He is even jealous of the dog and how he sniffs under Martha’s skirt. Ward embodies the persona of the feral dog who only seeks the basest of needs: food, sex, and sleep.
Martha’s butcher shop is appropriately named ‘Fleisch Haus’ which literally translates as “flesh house”. Martha is little more than flesh with no other substance to Otto. Her imagination and ability to be an independent person is repellant to him even as he takes advantage of her. German Playwright Franz Xaver Kroetz has masterfully created characters that balance each other with the subtlest flashes of tenderness under the grit.
German art has a history of malaise that is reflective of the various cultural and political upheavals. There was the debauched art and performances of the prewar years that betrayed the starched ideals of what the German people should represent. The works of Weill and Brecht come to mind as exposing the other side of German culture. Kroetz picks up on the cultural pulse in the time before the Wall came down and Germany was in the throes of a split identity.
This production of Through The Leaves is well directed by and beautifully layered. Director Andy Hager’s staging is expertly done, and even the sound has an odd effect. Hearing the romantic songs of Motown and Johnny Cash sung in German is both funny and jarring juxtaposed with the naturalistic action and setting. Hearing “I Could Have Danced All Night” faintly and in the style of old carousel music gave me chills – this relationship is no dainty carousel ride, and is instead a horses-frothing-at-the-mouth and flesh being exquisitely torn apart jaunt.
I highly recommend Through The Leaves. It was -15 degrees when I ventured to Side Project and well worth the trek.
Rating: ★★★½
Through the Leaves continues through February 1st at Side Project Theatre, 1439 W. Jarvis (map), with performances Thursdays-Saturdays at 7:30pm, Sundays 7pm. Tickets are $15-$20, and are available by phone (773-340-0140) or online through BrownPaperTickets.com (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com). More information at TheSideProject.net. (Running time: 70 minutes without intermission. NOTE: This show is for a mature audience, with depictions of sexual activity and references to violence.)
Photos by Scott Dray
artists
cast
Laurie Larson (Martha), H.B. Ward (Otto)
behind the scenes
Andy Hager (director), Rebecca Butler (stage manager), Brian Ruby (production coordinator), Michael Manocchio (dramaturg), Carolyn Voss (set designer), Diane Fairchild (lighting designer), Allison Smith (costume designer), Stephen Gawrit (sound design), Scott Dray (photos)
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