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NY Theater: “The Other Side” is a pseudo-absurdist play about warAriel Dorfman offers trite, derivative commentary on political divisionsBy Lucy KomisarRosemary Harris and John Cullum give worthy performances as an elderly couple caught up in the confusing, contradictory maelstroms of war in Ariel Dorfman’s absurdist play, “The Other Side.” His proposition is that both sides are always losers, including in a peace which seeks to separate warring populations even when they have no enmity. In this case, in fact, the two citizens of “Tomas” and “Costanza” are married. Unfortunately, Dorfman’s symbolism is so pretentious and derivative, and the dialogue is so leaden, that one is drawn neither into the story nor into the supposed political profundity of the text. Atom Roma (John Cullum) and Levana Julak (Rosemary Harris) – with obvious Balkan names -- plod along, now dragging in a dead soldier who they will bury and catalogue in a bookcase filled with file folders so his relatives will be able to find him. Suddenly, the war is over and the two need to pick up their lives. He wants to go to the city where there is life; she wants to stay behind to wait for the return of their son who left years before.
And the guard’s restrictions continue the inhumanity of war. The wife needs to show the guard an identity card to pass the border so she can go to the stove to make soup. The husband needs to do the same to pass the border to use the toilet. Of course war is made to order for an absurdist playwright. And we know that even when “peace” is declared, the citizens on both sides are often victimized by the armed “peace keepers.” However, writing about absurd situations does not make an absurdist play. There needs to be irony, for example, not just inanity.
Director Blanka Zizka makes the best of the script, imposing a surreal mood, including crashing walls in Beowolf Borrit’s well-designed rustic cabin of blue wood planks. War, indeed, is hell, and so are plays that fail in attempts to be arty about it. “The Other Side.” Written by Ariel Dorfman. Directed by Blanka Zizka. Starring Rosemary Harris, John Cullum, Gene Farber. Manhattan Theatre Club, 131 West 55th St. Tue-Sat 8pm; Wed, Sat, Sun 2pm. Running time 1:20. Through Jan. 15, 2006. $65; $25 student rush. 212-581-1212. http://www.mtc-nyc.org/. by Joan Marcus. |
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But the insanity is not over. A victorious armed guard
(Gene Farber) arrives to establish the border between the two warring towns,
which turns out to be a yellow police tape run down the middle of their bed.
The notion that the soldier could be their son Joseph is
trite and predictable – along with the labored scene of Levana Julak taking her
child’s toy truck and children’s books out of a storage carton. As the guard,
the slightly hyper Gene Farber sometimes appears as if he is about to join a
sports team; at other times he seemed slightly drugged.
