Helen Doig and Dean McAskil. Photo - Nigel Etherington
This is not a play for the fainthearted. Neither is it for those who wish to see something intelligent, humorous or witty.
Bug, written by Tracy Letts, takes place in a seedy American motel room, home of no hoper Agnes (Helen Doig). She befriends Peter (Dean McAskil),
a gulf war veteran, and together they spiral into a drug fuelled
paranoid relationship, believing that bugs have invaded their skin and
their room. What
follows is a harsh, at times confronting view on two people who have
lost rationalism and resort to extreme measures.
This production
directed by Jo Marsh is slow paced, and I was unmoved at what should be a powerful look at mania. The dialogue is stilted, although it’s hard to tell if it is the script or the actors making it so. The
American accents, realistic but hard to understand at times; help
generate a slow moving, sluggish drawl. These are pathetic characters
in trailer trash style, and difficult to like.
Whilst I thought Doig as Agnes
captured some of the desperation towards the end, the overall portrayal
of the character was of someone who didn’t care or had given up. The
loss of her son in the past seems merely a side issue in this
production. Regardless if this is dictated in the script, it doesn’t
make for good theatre. Ian Toyne as Goss, Agnes
ex husband recently released from prison had the most emotive moments.
His short moments on stage veering between pretend nice and outright
nasty and violent were the more memorable events during the show. Jo Wyndham as Agnes friend RC, and Igor Sas as Dr Sweet round out the cast. These two incidental characters do little for the production except move the plot forward. Although Dr Sweet
is the catalyst for the final moments, he is portrayed as a repulsive
stereotypical bad doctor in a performance that made me cringe.
The dialogue is underpinned by constant noise; cars going by, the intermittent air-conditioner or helicopters hovering overhead. Designed by Steven Hearne the sound track injects a shade of realism, complemented via the excellent set by Brad Reid.
The set is full of the little details – a real fridge (with light),
smoke alarm, bathroom with toilet, light switches and so forth. It
looks like a standard motel except it is disintegrating much like the
characters.
In
a theatre, you are restricted in location and realism, and the amount
of effects you can produce. For this reason, the ending of Bug fell completely flat. A recent movie version directed by The Exorcist’s William Friedkin and starring Ashley Judd, should have a much more effective conclusion.
I came away with a sense of grubbiness, but no pity for these people. I expect Bug could be a hard hitting look at war veterans, drug users and paranoia, but here it was limp and unmoving.
Spotty Fellow Productions presents Bug by Tracy Letts
Venue: Subiaco Arts Centre Dates: August 3 – 18 Preview: 2 August @ 8:00pm Times: 3 & 4 August @ 8:00pm; 7 - 11 August @ 8:00pm; 14 - 18 August @ 8:00pm Bookings: BOCS 9484 1133
WARNING! This theatrical performance contains extreme language, violence, smoking, drug use, and full frontal nudity
Thank you for your review. I draw readers' attentions to another review of this production, posted by Gordon the Optom on another web site. Just goes to show how subjective our experiences are...
‘Bug’ is a sinister thriller by Tracy Letts. It is produced by Spotty Fellow Productions and is showing nightly, at 8.00, in the main auditorium of the Subiaco Theatre Arts Centre until 18th August.
To read the rest of the review goto http://www.theatre.asn.au/theatre_reviews/bug
[Editor's Note: Please note, this comment has been edited. Due to copyright regulations, we are not permitted to publish the full text of a review published on another website, without their permission.]
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