THEATRE REVIEWS by
Willard Manus
Three bold theatrical
experiments are currently shaking things up in Los Angeles. KILL YOUR
HISTORY--A MANIFESTO IN PERFORMANCE, a solo work written and performed
by Arron Shiver, directed by Drago Sumonja, is a sometimes maniacal, sometimes
satirical rant against conformity and timidity. Very 60s in the way it
breaks down the fourth wall between
performer and audience--and flails away at bourgeois conventions and behavior--KILL
YOUR HISTORY is a tour de force for Shiver, who is an actor of considerable
power and charisma, and will undoubtedly be heard from
in future. (Gardner Stages, 1540 N. Gardner Ave, Hlywd. 323-661-3004).
Thanks to director/translator
Abraham Celaya, we have the rare chance to see a play by the Spanish surrealist
Fernando Arrabal. THE ARCHITECT AND THE EMPEROR OF ASSYRIA (which was
performed in a different
English translation at Britain's National Theatre in 1971) is a long,
wild two-hander about the battle for power and supremacy in life. Elijha
Mahar plays a
white man called The Emperor who crashlands on a remote island and discovers
its only other inhabitant, The Architect (Derrick Demetrius Parker), a
black man who appears to be a simple, primitive soul. Arrabal turns the
Robinson Crusoe story on its ear, though, with The Architect becoming
The Emperor at times and lording it over him, only to have the tables
turned and the master/slave relationship reversed. Arrabal tosses poetry,
eroticism,
games-playing, cross-dressing, religion and cannibalism into the stew,
resulting in a fiery dish of outrageous, language-drenched, Absurdist
theatre
which goes down like a peppery paella. Celaya directs the actors with
flair and energy, and coaxes daring performances out of them. Set, costumes,
music, lighting and sound are equally colorful and effective, resulting
in a production that is a feast for all the senses.
At Stages Theatre
Center, 1540 N. McCadden Place, Hlywd. Call (323) 465-1010 or visit www.stageshollywood.com
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