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Vaclav Havel
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Playwright Vaclav Havel
LARGO's themes include intellectual impotence, learned helplessness, betrayal, banality, and fear, which result in a series of artistic, emotional and creative blocks. From the historical evidence, it's clear: at that hour in the artist's life, such subject matter was very close at hand.
Everyone in Havel's farce looks to Leopold Nettles, an aging professor, for the answer, the next step towards freedom. The problem no one is willing to recognize in this darkly comic drama is that this rather terrorized old man doesn't know what it is—or even if he's remotely interested in taking it. Yes, Nettles once had a few words to say about freedom. Now, however, he finds himself with nothing to add to them.
That will satisfy no one in his immediate world, from mooching, self-styled representatives of a proletariat awaiting direction to a scornful wife (and her similarly scornful lover) who are convinced he's faking his indecision. An operative in the resistance, a disenchanted lover, and two strange agents of the state—none of these are pleased with the extended pause of a man who's not sure what to say next, or if he even has the courage to say it.
The point could be scarcely less veiled, or more autobiographical. The flesh fails, and those who demand a dissident remain visionary and true in the face of state-sponsored terror generally do so from an enviable distance. Once a writer is identified as the Jesus of Prague, it's an inconvenience to all concerned parties for him to suddenly turn human, or otherwise entertain second thoughts.
This courageous, ambitious production features Mary Ruth's awaited return to directing, and makes an eloquent case for her continued employment in that occupation. A uniformly strong cast includes an inspired Tom Marriott as the besieged Professor Nettles, with Marcia Edmundson as spurned and spurning wife Suzana, and Derrick Ivey as stylized lothario Edward. Michele Vazquez gives yet another notable performance as Nettles' lover, Lucy, while Jenifer Crowell and Carroll Credle ably define supporting characters as First and Second Sidney.
This show's stylized and classical absurdism features imaginative costuming and makeup by Ivey and James Carnahan's allegorically pointed set of doors, barbed wire, and schizoid upholstery. That it gets any laughs at all out of its dark themes is a significant tribute to Ruth's vision and her cast's abilities.
Laughs are in abundance, but the humor is razor-sharp. Those in search of a light night out are cautioned to steer clear of this production. Those with more discerning tastes for sociopolitical satire, deftly directed and enacted, really shouldn't miss it.