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review A heart attack of a play, Mark Ravenhill's "Shopping And Fucking" is probably one of the most unsettling works in the current repertory. A bleak, black comedy that blindsides you with drama, it is not easily digested -- or forgotten. Orange County, CA's Rude Guerrilla Theater Co. has taken on the challenge of Ravenhill's 1996 debut. It's the story of an off-again, on-again love triangle between petty criminals Mark, Lulu and Robbie (Jay Fraley, Lorianne Hill, Eric Eisenbrey) who intersect the realities and fantasies of Brian, a London drug kingpin (Robert M. Tully), and a rent boy named Gary (Nicholas Downs). It's also a story about what happens when you choose to forget about morality. Matters begin badly, then become much worse -- especially when Brian issues an ultimatum to the trio to come up with 3,000 pounds in seven days. Ravenhill's message is simple: humanity is now on sale. It's not that we can be bought, it's that we have been bought. Corporations, crime bosses, drug syndicates, pornographers and pimps, politicians, and venture capitalists own our psyches and take advantage of our addictions. People are a commodity; people are handed a fate. Each life has a predictable course, and only extreme sensations can divert us from an inner void. That all sounds pretty depressing. But for much of the world's population, it may be true. Obviously, Ravenhill did some thinking before he penned this play. And the story is remarkably prescient; I'll bet it'll be hailed as a classic ten years from now, the play that warned we would soon live in an empire without borders run by boards of directors. When Brian, the drug thug -- who may actually be God by the logic of Ravenhill's story -- claims straightfacedly that the first words in the Bible are "get the money," an entire decade is illuminated. So, this five-character tale does not go down easy. It is also not easy to do. Rude Guerrilla's staging succeeds in spite of some big glitches. The first glitch: this ensemble cannot sustain a British accent. Indeed, the accent work is deplorable. Hill sounds British all the time, Eisenbrey most of the time, and the rest of the cast seems adrift somewhere in the Atlantic. (Perhaps it was just an off-night, but thanks to the sloppy dialects, it took me a good 30 minutes to forget that I was watching actors.) The second glitch: the English sense of humor is missing from the show. Dave Barton's sober direction abates much of the script's comedy, especially in the show's first half. However, after intermission, Barton directs the play's most dramatic scenes fluidly and beautifully. (The drama-first feel of this production could be by default; it may take a British cast to put the comedy across sharply.) Unquestionably, this production has some fine actors -- especially Hill and the redoubtable Fraley, who seems positively haunted in his role. Since more than a few scenes in "Shopping and Fucking" feature sexual exploitation or sexual humiliation, the cast members have to assume a kind of bungee-jump mentality; to a person, these thespians are unafraid. To address the rumors, the production is indeed NC-17. In fact, let's be blunt: you could call it "X". I've seen hundreds, literally hundreds of plays in my life, and I was amazed to see some of the things I saw during this show. (Your initial "are they really gonna do that?" turns into "oh my God, they are!" at several junctures in the show.) "Shopping and Fucking" is not a good night out; it is a great play. At times, this is a terrific production. Stay with it past the flaws; after intermission, you'll be glad you did, and you'll think about the experience for a long, long time. "Shopping and Fucking", presented by Rude Guerrilla Theatre Co. at the Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Fri-Sat @ 8pm, Sun @ 2:30pm through March 18. $15. 714.547.4688. Copyright © 2001 The Write Word, Inc. All rights reserved. |