By SHARON EBERSON
Forget Tarantino. Forget Mamet. Ulster American packs perhaps the most profane, offensive punch with intent to offend that I can recall in the theater, or anywhere else. I could be wrong, of course. But I could be right. And that doesn’t even count using theater critics for verbal target practice.
It says something about human nature and the state of the world that howls of laughter accompanied outrage piled upon outrage at barebones’ Sunday matinee in Braddock, (a testament to those of us who indulged our theater craving, while the Steelers were beating the Colts).
(Image: Louis Stein)
With a willful disregard for propriety as the weapons of choice, and self-interest paramount, a UK apartment becomes the battlefield for playwright David Ireland’s warring parties: Anxious English director Leigh (Simon Bradbury) and Ruth (Christine Weber), a Northern Irish playwright who identifies as British, can’t believe their good fortune in snagging Oscar-winning actor Jay Conway (David Whalen) to be their star — that is, until Jay opens his mouth.
Ah, the oblivious, egocentric American, a stranger in a strange land, lacking the knowledge of its history and traditions, but ready and willing to flaunt his ignorance. That’s Whalen’s Jay. If there is a chance to expose himself as racist, misogynist, morally bankrupt and ignorant of how the rest of the world works, Jay jumps in head first. As the director and actor await the arrival of Ruth, Jay’s ramblings go beyond abhorrent, but Bradbury’s Leigh, desperate to open the play with a Hollywood name on the marquee, humors him between big gulps of booze.
As Leigh says of Jay’s behavior, “He’s not an adult. He’s an actor!.”
That Whalen is able to keep a straight face while saying even half of what his character spews is a measure of the consummate actor we know him to be. Bradbury, Whalen’s frequent co-star with Kinetic Theatre, makes his first barebones productions appearance for director Patrick Jordan. As Leigh, he must spend much of the play fighting the urge to speak his mind, while Ruth is not so willing to hold back.
She has arrived harried, trying to hide her concern for her mother, whom she has left back in Belfast, hospitalized after a car crash. But she is so excited to begin work with her leading man, she has made the trip for this first meeting. The good mood deteriorates quickly when the director confesses to Ruth something that Jay has said in confidence, something reprehensible, and the once starstruck writer begins to understand that casting Jay is not the slam dunk that she had in mind.
A section of the play that slows the crazy down just a bit is the explanation of the political climate in Northern Ireland, from The Troubles to Brexit to today, leading to the collision of Ruth’s steadfast British views, Leigh’s desire to produce the play at all costs, and Jay’s Irish Catholic roots. Although the actor constantly is saying, “History is important,” he knows little about it, perhaps representing what the playwright believes of most U.S. citizens. Jay’s first question to Ruth is: “What is Ulster?”
The three-way conversation takes one drastic turn after another, as it escalates toward a frenzied finish that is barebones at its most in-your-face.
a new play. (Images: Louis Stein)
The company’s team of collaborators, including scenic designer Tony Ferrieri and lighting designer Andrew David Ostrowski, know the tight black box space so well, that the apartment seems to be right out of a real estate site. Onstage, there is rarely a static moment, as Jordan has the actors moving nonstop — Whalen preening at mirrors is a hoot, and Bradbury being literally taken aback is golden.
These are three game actors ready for everything that’s thrown at them, and Ireland throws a lot, including Weber’s Irish accent and Whalen’s, more like “an Irish Dick Van Dyke,” she tells him.
Jay’s Hollywood references to directors such as Quentin Tarantino, Paul Verhoeven and James Cameron, plus a Rutger Hauer mention, are fun for movie fans, and place Jay in a certain cinema echelon. There is no mention, however, of roots in theater, and therein lies the rub.
Ulster American fits the bill of a Jordan/barebones production, with its pitch-black, savage humor and violence (take the appearance of fight coordinator Randy Kovitz and special effects artist Steve Tolan in the program as big hints). Come prepared to laugh at topics that would normally make your toes curl with rage, and enjoy the all-in performances. Think of it as a trio of top-notch players grappling to grab a loose ball and run with it, headlong into the end zone.
TiCKETS AND DETAILS
Ulster American is at barebones productions Braddock Black Box Theater,1211 Braddock Ave., now through October 25. Tickets: https://www.barebonesproductions.com/ulsteramerican.
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