I knew I was in for it, when the director of “Nine 10-minute Comedies about Death, Sex: Election Season” managed to get in the Anglo-Saxon word for feces and the diminutive for Richard, as a slang word for a man’s appendage, all in the same sentence, while asking the audience to turn off their cell phones With the exception of one of the plays “Sex Life”, by Wayne Rawley, the audience got an overdose of profanity, contempt, very little creativity and the sort of humor which is largely forgettable because it lacks any insight into the serious issues of life.
One of the problems with the show was that eight of the plays were virtually all the same play. The title of this one play was: “Smug Seattleites Demonize the Unenlightened Southern-accented Redneck Republicans”. Many of the rants were straight off the pages of the alternative press.
“Sex Life”, by Wayne Rawley, the best play of the evening, was everything a 10 minute play should be: swift exposition, believable-developed characters, compassion, humor, tragedy and a creative twist at the end. While many of the plays pandered to a superficial attitude towards sex, “Sex Life” insightfully unmasked the neediness behind casual sex, from both the male and female perspective.
Technically, the director responded to the necessity of having quick set changes by keeping the set pieces to a minimum and using digital photography projected on the wall, for quick, efficient exposition about the upcoming play. It was one of the highlights of the evening. However there was one slight glitch when the title for the play was wrong. Except for one offensive clichéd song where the most graphic language is used to tell an old girl-friend to scram, the songs during the set changes were largely forgettable.
Although the actors were not working with the best material, the strength of the show was the acting. Several actors stood out, such as Allison Strickland in a variety of meaty roles, including that of a sphinx. (NB neither the program nor the press packet stated which actors were playing which roles, so I cannot name the others.) In the program there was a statement that Balagan was attempting to “put the focus on the writing”, which is a real pity because the writers with the exception of Wayne Rawley, fell into the trap of using the Anglo-Saxon word for copulation as a response to every human situation and emotion, so much so that it became boring and lost any punch it could have had. Writers do better when they find creative metaphors to express disgust, surprise, happiness or hatred. Writing should involve creativity not just clichés.
“Nine 10-Minute Comedies about Death, Sex:Election Season. Balagan Theatre April 5 to April 14. Thursdays at 8 pm, Friday and Saturday at 8 pm & 11 pm. Erickson Theatre, 1524 Harvard Ave.Capitol Hill across from SCCC. Seattle, 98122 www.balagantheatre.org.