Roadworks Productions is the latest troupe to come out of Northwestern University, and it’s on its way to the same exciting and innovative reputation earned by its predecessor, the Lookingglass Theatre.
After successful productions of Jim Cartwright’s “Road” and a Jeff-recommended adaptation of John Barth’s “The End of the Road,” Roadworks is now offering a fascinating, beautifully performed, challenging and chilling work by Canadian Judith Thompson, “Lion in the Streets,” at the Synergy Theatre.
Though small and chamberlike, muted and unshowy, “Lion” is every bit the kind of mixed-media experiment Lookingglass has become famous for. Roadworks employs modern choreography-pounding, driving, insistent and angry-by Peter Carpenter to decorate this episodic tale.
Even more compelling, though, is the mature depth of acting and interpretation the troupe injects into its treatment of this difficult, troubling work.
Thompson’s story begins with the classroom torments of an emotionally disturbed Portuguese immigrant child, later slain by a psycho killer. The child, Isobel, then literally haunts the rest of the play, which follows the adult tribulations of the neighborhood kids who grew up and whose fates are arguably even more cruel and depressing than Isobel’s.
Boredom, betrayal and traumatic flashback torture these people. A woman learns in the public setting of a cocktail party that her husband is leaving her for his partner in phone sex. A gay man, on a whim, goes to confession, only to learn that his confessor is the priest whom he always suspected of lustful glances. The priest then mistakes this man for another who drowned at a church function in a tragedy still tormenting this unhappy, guilt-ridden cleric.
In most of the scenes in this 1990 work, Thompson has a minor character in one skit return as the major figure in the next. The tales are episodic, as the spectral Isobel hunts for the one among them who murdered her.
The superb second act includes unforgettable encounters between a cerebral palsy patient and a glib journalist visiting for an interview; two childhood friends who angrily relive a traumatic sexual encounter; and a couple whose sadomasochistic interplay is frightening, real and surreal.
The actors in this excellent young company unfold gradually in this piece, their talents blossoming with the story itself.
“Lion” slyly shows off their versatility, including chameleonic Kirsten Nelson; Debbie Bisno’s grounded, earthy realism; and Scott Denny’s and Patrick McNulty’s fresh attacks on the male roles. Meg Brogan’s heartbreaking, waiflike, terrified impersonation of Isobel, meanwhile, magically unifies this unforgettable work of theater.
“Lion in the Streets” plays through Nov. 28 at Synergy Theatre, 1753 N. Damen Ave. Phone 312-489-7623.
