I can't say this play was a disappointment because I didn't have any real expectations for it, so it couldn't quite fall short. So instead I'll just call it like it is: it was awful.
It starts out wonderfully promising with a meditation about how the main character doesn't understand that line, "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." Right before she turns, she tells us that the past is the only country she knows, and it's the present she's scared of.
Then everything goes downhill from there. She turns around, revealing her gaudy makeup, and then she takes off her trench coat to reveal a silly condecorated Girl Scout outfit.
Throughout the play, we see this woman struggle: with herself, with her boyfriend, with her life, with her environment. The room starts to literally cave in on her, with weeds and plants oozing out of the wall and even the mini-bar.
But at no point do I particularly feel for her.
It is revealed to us towards the end that her boyfriend might actually be her husband, and that he might be in a hospital room, and that it's possible that they had a son named Michael who died, but all those questions are left lingering, unexplored.
I loved the set design and the projections ... but that was about it. Disappointing for Bootleg, since I've had great experiences there, like The Interlopers and Synesthesia. Had this been my first play there, I would not be returning.
It starts out wonderfully promising with a meditation about how the main character doesn't understand that line, "The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there." Right before she turns, she tells us that the past is the only country she knows, and it's the present she's scared of.
Then everything goes downhill from there. She turns around, revealing her gaudy makeup, and then she takes off her trench coat to reveal a silly condecorated Girl Scout outfit.
Throughout the play, we see this woman struggle: with herself, with her boyfriend, with her life, with her environment. The room starts to literally cave in on her, with weeds and plants oozing out of the wall and even the mini-bar.
But at no point do I particularly feel for her.
It is revealed to us towards the end that her boyfriend might actually be her husband, and that he might be in a hospital room, and that it's possible that they had a son named Michael who died, but all those questions are left lingering, unexplored.
I loved the set design and the projections ... but that was about it. Disappointing for Bootleg, since I've had great experiences there, like The Interlopers and Synesthesia. Had this been my first play there, I would not be returning.
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