DURHAM -- Bare Theatre, noted for energetic, insightful stagings of Shakespeare, expands its boundaries with "Boys and Girls," three contemporary one-acts linked by themes of sex and death. The production shows that the company is quite capable in such fare.
The strongest offering is the hourlong "Ask Him in the Morning," written and directed by company resident director Carmen-maria Mandley. Cynical, cocky Gunnar informs the audience that he has hired an actress, Kate, to help him put on a play about his sins. He asks to be heard before being judged, then proceeds to act out past abusive encounters with a prostitute in a hotel, a young girl in a Laundromat and a druggie in a shared apartment. Kate questions Gunnar's motives and sincerity as she reluctantly participates, eventually taking on the role of Gunnar's possible executioner.
Mandley's text has layers of theatrical and religious references that enrich this hallucinatory journey. Who Kate is and how real she is are fascinating questions that propel this exploration of male sexual obsession.
Heather J. Hackford, the company's artistic director, impresses with her range of portraits and her intensity as she takes control over Gunnar. Loren Armitage gives him an unrepentant confidence that changes to fear and panic as he finds his fate in Kate's hands. Mandley keeps the pacing tight and encourages the actors to let go physically and emotionally, providing visceral performances.
Barbie and the bus stop
Before intermission, two half-hour pieces directed by G. Todd Buker, the company's managing director, make less of an impression.
"Burying Barbie," by New Yorker Christopher Dimond, initially grabs attention as 7-year old Rachel (Jessica Heironimus) plays with her friend Chuck (Richard Butner), administering violent ends to her Barbie dolls. When Rachel's mother Linda (Sarah Schmitt) admonishes her without acknowledging Chuck's presence, it's apparent he's Rachel's invisible friend. The revelation of Chuck's real significance doesn't hit with full impact because of the overdone, "grown-ups playing children" approach Buker takes.
North Carolina native Jason Williamson's "boygirlboygirl" follows a lonely, awkward guy (Matt Fields) who wants to connect with a girl (Kelly Haas) he meets at a bus stop. As his obsession starts down a dangerous path, voices in his head (Jeff Buckner and Debbie Tullos) alternately warn and encourage him. Buker stages the action inventively and lets the poetic dialogue have its due, but the tale's stark ending is not foreshadowed well in the blandly sweet acting. For both pieces, Buker seems reluctant to ask for darker, more nuanced responses from his casts.
Still, these brief views of human nature's thornier elements are worth checking out, especially for the evening's strong second half.
