“AROUSAL”/”The Lover” at The Flea Theater (Closed on Saturday August 2, 2014)
Laura Lundy-Paine and Dan Fagan in "The Lover" - Photo by Luis A. Solarzano
“AROUSAL”/”The Lover” at The Flea Theater (Closed on Saturday August 2, 2014) Written by George Pfirrmann/Harold Pinter Directed by Chloe Bronzan Reviewed by David Roberts Theatre Reviews Limited
A felicitous pairing of George Pfirrmann’s “AROUSAL” and Harold Pinter’s “The Lover” recently closed at The Flea Theater in Manhattan. Both short plays deal with themes of loneliness, passion, motivation, and human need: each short play addresses these important themes in quite different ways.
Mr. Pfirrmann’s “AROUSAL” pairs two star-crossed lovers: Albena (Laura Lundy-Paine) a committed scrabble-playing sex worker from the Ukraine and Clifford (Dan Fagan) a lonely twenty-something with Asperger’s Syndrome. Clifford has been unable to connect well with other people because of his disorder and, until her death, spent his entire life inside with his mother. Clifford is computer savvy and, deciding he needs to restart his life, searches Craig’s List for companionship and discovers that Albena has an ad offering to be “a special friend.” Clifford meets Albena in her apartment and when he discovers she is a sex worker he begins to discover the work he needs to do: Clifford needs to rediscover how to relate to another human being without fear and anxiety. Despite Albena’s efforts to remain professional (“No kissing!”) and Clifford’s superego (“My mother told me that …”) the two manage to break down barriers of pity and pain and find in each other redemption and release – at least with each other and only one moment at a time. Ms. Lundy-Paine is exceptional in the role of Albena: she captures the broken soul of a woman trying to escape from a difficult past and gives her character a high-octane dose of realism and honesty. And Mr. Fagan delivers his character Clifford with a sympathetic yet tortured authenticity: his Clifford is a young man desperate to touch and be touched in so many significant ways.
Chloe Bronzan’s fluid direction – although serving the actors well in “AROUSAL” – leaves them sometimes aimless in Harold Pinter’s “The Lover.” Pinter’s work often requires exacting and specific direction and without that “frame” the resulting portraits can seem unfinished. In “The Lover,” a well-to-do English couple sorts out their own matrices of loneliness, passion, motivation, and need. Sarah (Laura Lundy-Paine) ostensibly has – with her husband’s consent – an afternoon lover who visits while husband Richard (Dan Fagan) toils at work. And Richard ostensibly has – with his wife’s consent – regular trysts with a sex worker. Ms. Lundy-Paine and Mr. Fagan handle Pinter’s cat-and-mouse play with sometimes too tender mittens: more sparks need to fly between these two as they explore ways to deal with their ennui and sexual dissatisfaction. Director Bronzan seems to miss the opportunity the tam-tam drum offers the actors: both should be tapping the drum at the same time using it as a trope for the intriguing game they are playing. The director also allows the actors to deliver their lines at the same cadence throughout which is disappointing because the rhythms of the conversation are important to the relationship ruse the audience eventually solves. Still Harold Pinter’s script triumphs and supports every effort the actors make to bring it to life.
One wonders why Virago decided not to pair “The Lover” with its usual “mate” Harold Pinter’s “The Collection.” Despite that query, this current pairing is more than satisfactory and seems to have stood the test of time.
AROUSAL/THE LOVER
“AROUSAL”/”The Lover” is presented by Virago Theatre Company at The Flea Theater. Directed by Chloe Bronzan.
The cast of “AROUSAL”/”The Lover” includes Dan Fagan, Laura Lundy-Paine, and Michael Vega. The creative team includes Robert Lundy-Paine (Set Design); Sophie Spinelle (Costume Design); Brandon Stock (Lighting Design/Technical Design), Nikki Eggert (Sound Design); and Gary Quinn (Production Stage Manager). The publicist is Scotti Rhodes Publicity. Production photos by Luis A. Solarzano.
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