Tue 25 May, 2010
War with the Newts – REVIEW
Comments (0) Filed under: REVIEWSTags: 3 STARS, Jason Loewith, Justin D.M. Palmer, Karel Capek, Loyola University, Mullady Theater, Next Theatre Company, War With The Newts, World Premiere Adaptation
By Venus Zarris
I have an evangelical notion that art is truly the great commission. More so than religion or any other institution, it is the place where alterations of consciousness can occur and so the perpetuation of it is critically vital. Because we have comparative minds these epiphanies normally come by way of holding up a mirror to our condition but it is not always the kind of mirror that we look at in the bathroom to simply fix our hair, rather it is oftentimes a fun house mirror with all manner distortions and deformations that deconstruct our complicated collective and individual machinations. There is always at least a trace of reality to spring from but the deviations can range from the ridiculous to the sublime.
In Karel Capek’s 1936 novel War with the Newts, the springboard is the turbulent sociopolitical climate of Europe just before the Second World War. Fascism, Communism and Capitalism were political systems on conflicting paths to manifest and dominate in the real world. The collision resulted in the death of over 60 million people. Capek wrote this novel when those tens of millions were still alive. He did not predict the pending march of death by way of these known conflicts. Instead, his deviation came by way of a strange discovery… Newts.
A race of intelligent humanoid newts, to be exact, are discovered and exploited. First they are used to collect a fortune’s worth of pearls but when their population explodes they are dispersed throughout the globe to alter the vary terrain of the planet. They rapidly evolve, form a collective consciousness and then revolt.
Playwrights Jason Loewith and Justin D.M. Palmer take on the Herculean task of adapting Capek’s classic fiction to the stage with varying degrees of success. The time period is beautifully rendered. The detailed chronology of events spells out the amphibious climb up the ladder of civilization precisely. The characters are engaging but the dramatic tension of the story drops off early in the first act.
The play opens in the parlor of a wealthy Czech businessman. The pecking order of the servants is humorously established as one-by-one the maid, gardener and bumbling gopher file through and get their daily orders from Povondra, the austere butler. This charmingly resembles an early 20th Century comedy.
Then there is a knock at the door. The captain of a ship shows up and asks to see the master. There is hesitation on the part of Povondra, the kind of hesitation that unknowingly holds with it the future of the planet. Povondra decides to let him in.
When Captain Van Toch, masterfully played by Steve Pickering, meets with G.H. Bondy there is a bit of reminiscent banter about their youth together that adds texture to the time period and then he launches in on a business proposition by way of a fantastic tale. Pickering is a brilliant storyteller. His account of discovering, befriending and then manipulating a tribe of oversized newts is enthralling. He tempers frenetic excitement with entrepreneurial enthusiasm and adds a convincing dose of genuine affinity for the newts to the mix. Pickering’s enthralling delivery of the initial tale of the newts front-loads the production with captivating anticipation.
Bondy sees the enormous potential for profits and, as is so often the case when profits are to be made, the venture begins and the world will never be the same.
From this point the play shifts the focus to Povondra’s ever-increasing need to document the quickly changing importance of the newts. As their population rapidly grows and their intelligence quickly expands; they develop from slave labor, to sideshow freaks, to an unbelievably powerful workforce and finally to momentous military assets. With massive numbers and the ability to effortlessly maneuver on land and underwater, newts accomplish in a few days what would take humans years to achieve. All they ask for is coastline, their required habitat.
Povondra’s need to document their history escalates to obsession. Hording newspaper clippings, hiding away it the attic listening to short wave radio broadcasts, missing work, spending all of his money and ignoring his family; he is the portrait of a man driven insane by the belief that this is all untimely his doing. Initially proud that he opened the door (literally) to this profound and historically pivotal change, his pride turns to a heightened sense of accountability. With each piece of news, he formulates the potential ramifications and sees the grave potential.
Placing the dramatic weight on the character of Povondra also places the dramatic weight on the actor in the role. Joseph Wycoff is confident and competent, transitioning from buttoned down practicality to the brink of madness effectively. But this is a surface transition. Perhaps it is in part due to that initial situational comedic introduction, but his descent resembles Lucy getting behind on the assembly line, rather than a person compulsively acquiring more and more information that he cannot possibly process or reconcile with. Wycoff’s delivery is accurate and interesting but less than compelling.
Then there are the newts. We wait a long time to see them and when they finally show up in Povondra’s nightmarish dream they are creatively fashioned, by puppet designer Michael Montenegro, but too abstract for us to make the concrete connection that is needed to fuel the imagined reality of the story. For the story to work we must believe that the newts are real and the few times that we encounter them they present a visually absurd contrast to the production’s stylized realism that fails to establish their actual existence.
Director Jason Loewith delivers an elaborate and impressive production. The cast is gifted. The mostly thrilling design elements range from simply effective to full on spectacle. The strange story is clearly conveyed but a complete emotional connection is never made to either the humans or the newts. Without this connection the drama seldom rises above an attractive two-dimensional experience. We vividly see the cautionary tale and recognize the deplorable potentials of human greed and arrogance but we are never fully riveted.
“All have contributed to the great pageant of fear.” Povondra articulates but without an emotional connection to the story, characters or newts; we agree with the statement but we aren’t scared, and we should be.
Next Theatre’s World Premiere of War with the Newts is a wildly ambitious, extremely fascinating and ultimately entertaining theatrical adaptation. Although it misses the truly terrifying and emotionally evocative potential of the original material, it is a remarkably crafted interpretation of a uniquely thought provoking story that is well worth your time.
When I got home from the opening of War with the Newts, the news was showing the pathetic attempt at cleaning up the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A handful of people in protective gear with shovels and plastic bags seemed like a Band-Aid on a decapitation. I thought, ‘We could really use those newts right now and we obviously deserve nature shifting control to some other life form.’ All I am saying is, give newts a chance.
3 STARS
(“War with the Newts” runs through June 20 at the Mulladay Theatre at Loyola University, 1125 W. Loyola Ave. 847-475-1875)
Next Theatre Company
War with the Newts production photos by Michael Brosilow.
