This review has been updated with new production photographs.
By BOB HOOVER
Many plays have been written to showcase a particular actor. British playwright Christopher Hampton drew on an obscure 1941 Hungarian novel by Sandor Marai to write a vehicle for Jeremy Irons when he returned to the London stage in 2005.
Most of Embers second act showcases Irons’ character, a brusque retired soldier called Henrik who unburdens himself and the audience about a moment from his distant past. A tour de force, if you will.
Fortunately for Kinetic Theatre audiences, Sam Tsoutsouvas plays Hendrik, and the veteran actor rises to the demands of Hampton’s play. His performance on opening night, May 16, was truly a tour de force, capturing the audience for nearly an hour with his emotional, blustering, and angry monologue.
The object of his outburst is former best friend Konrad, played by another stage veteran, Jack Wetherall, who is forced to listen, grimace, shake his head, stare at his drink, and manage a few mumbles.
I don’t want to ignore the 10-minute appearance of Njini, played by Susie McGregor-Laine, Hendrik’s aged nurse who helps the old man to bed after his exhausting display.
Directed in a straightforward, clear style by Kinetic founder and director Andrew Paul, his choice of Embers was a daring one and a strong vote of confidence in Tsoutsouvas.
“Embers promises much more than it delivers, though. The first act is a quick tour of the 20th century – World War I, the Russian Revolution, the collapse of the Austria-Hungarian Empire, the rise of Nazi Germany and the start of World War II. In a bow to Chekov, Henrik inspects a revolver while waiting for his visitor.
Yet, for Henrik, nothing has changed. “I still believe my world was worth dying for,” he mused, although the dual monarchy was an unbalanced, barely connected empire of a dozen nations ready to splinter at the drop of an archduke.
Summoned by Henrik, Konrad has managed to flee his London home in the Blitz and make his way across war-torn Europe to arrive at Henrik’s Hungarian estate outside Vienna. It’s their first meeting in 41 years.
“Vienna’s changed,” observes the unironic Konrad, who has spent most of his life in “the Tropics.”
Even though both men have survived the 20th-century catastrophes, Henrik isn’t interested. Embers is about his obsession with the thought that his late wife and Konrad had an affair in 1899.
An empty frame hangs on the walls of Henrik’s old-fashioned rooms, given a 19th-century faded look by designer Johmichael Bohach. It once held the portrait of Christina, his late wife.
“Did you burn it?” he asks Nini. She hadn’t.
“The facts are only part of the truth,” Henrik ponderously observes as he warms into his diatribe. Why did Konrad “run-off” without so much as a goodbye? How did his wife’s garden flowers end up in Konrad’s place? And, was his lifelong friend ready to shoot him during a hunting trip?
“You’ve always hated me,” Henrik shouts. He was far wealthier than his childhood friend, who turned down his offers of money. After meeting Konrad, his father calls him a “different breed,” but he does introduce Henrik to Christina.
It was not a marriage made in heaven. When Konrad leaves, the couple separates and never speaks again before Christina dies.
Finally, and it might be a stretch, but there was an erotic tinge to the men’s relationship. Did Konrad flee to put it behind him? Was Henrik’s question about “passion” the one he wanted an answer to?
Embers is a rage at the dying of the light of two men whose questions about their lives have myriad answers. It demands intense concentration from its audience, making that trip to Carnegie worth it.
TICKETS AND DETAILS
Kinetic Theatre’s production of Embers runs now through May 25, 2025 at Carnegie Stage in Carnegie, PA. Tickets at https://www.showclix.com/events/19002
You can ready our preview feature on Embers here.
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