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review The King of England is about to be wed. He and his future Queen, both clothed in white, walk hand-in-hand on an expanse of black sand. Suddenly, a naked, brazen youth runs toward the monarch. The King catches the boy and embraces him, pawing his bare body and issuing passionate kisses unto his flesh. The bride shrinks in agony; the archbishop retreats. Martial drumming fills the air as bishops, lords and soldiers run to and fro in chaos. The King of England has taken a male "whore." And England will not be the same. This riveting moment is one of many in director Michael Michetti's staging of Bertolt Brecht's "Edward II", a production of Circle X Theater Company. Michetti has blown the dust off this rarely staged 1924 work, and it's ready to rumble. Christopher Marlowe's original script was mere classical music to Brecht's jazz; Michetti's production is rock 'n' roll. Pounding drums rip through the Actors Gang's big warehouse space as the cast amasses on a kind of playing field -- a stark proscenium, much like a sandbox, filled with several inches of what looks like black pumice. As the play goes on, two live percussionists beat away to frame the action, using everything from claves to bass drums. If you like Nine Inch Nails -- or the California E.A.R. Unit -- you've got to check out this show. And history buffs will dig it too. The history is as follows: Edward II, who ruled England from 1307-26, was unashamedly gay. His lover was a young Irishman named Daniel Gaveston, a mere butcher's son whose impudence shocked an empire. Edward's refusal to ban Gaveston from London set off machinations that led to civil war. As Edward and Gaveston, Connor Trinneer and Brian McDonald take commanding turns -- especially McDonald. In one striking monologue, Gaveston is to compose a letter renouncing his love. So McDonald crouches in a spotlight atop a raked table, a gin bottle in one hand, a pencil in the other, a piece of paper at his feet. He drinks, spits, and dreams aloud with mad intensity as the drummers drive his monologue, snares and brushes and bass drums punctuating his fervent ideas. It's great theater: a head-on, confrontational performance with its own backup band. Things really get stirred up when the Earl of Mortimer (or the "Eel of Mortimer," as he is known) gets banished to the hinterlands by Edward for challenging the love affair. But Mortimer has just fallen in love with Edward's betrothed, Queen Anne. The rest of the play is essentially a battle royal focusing on the civil war ahead, the exile of Edward, and the struggle between Mortimer, Edward, Anne and Young Edward for the crown. It helps that Mortimer is played by Dominic Hoffman, and Anne by Jillian Crane. Hoffman, who just won two Ovation awards for his solo show "Uncle Jacques' Symphony", has got presence to burn and a swaggering command of language and Brechtian argument. Crane revs up nicely for solo turns and ensemble scenes; she'd make a fine Lady MacBeth. The show is long -- 2 hours, 50 minutes -- and loud, and some of the casting choices are a little wack: having Young Edward played by Sharon Bart, a young woman with a ponytail, doesn't really work even as irony, and the talented Travis Michael Holder seems miscast as the Archbishop. But these are minor quibbles. This show offers an aggressive, accessible and powerful night at the theater. This neglected epic is made awesomely fresh by Michetti's vision. "Edward
II", presented by Copyright © 2001 The Write Word, Inc. All rights reserved. |