Hatchet Arts Editor
How do you look at a stranger? Without ever having a conversation, do you think you could convince yourself that someone is evil?
In The Radiant Abyss, the first play fully commissioned by the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, stalwart businesswoman Erin Skidmore (Janis Dardaris) has no trouble convincing herself that members of a nearby church are pure evil. Ms. Skidmore, who oversees a property office in the slums of Salem, N.C., has seen a bleak picture of humanity throughout her life, particularly of the male gender.
“I’ve seen evil slap me right across the face,” she says in an attempt to establish her expert opinion. But as it turns out, Ms. Skidmore has never spoken to a member of the church, nor has she ever set foot inside the door.
Ms. Skidmore makes a strong impression on you at the opening of the play, seen fiercely straddling a younger blonde man who sits at her desk. After a farcically lewd sex scene culminating in two embellished orgasms, the two get dressed and slip into their very limited social roles. The young man, Steve Enloe (Jeremy Beazlie), puts on his delivery boy outfit and begins toying with boxes while Ms. Skidmore stands over him in her high heels and miniskirt, lecturing on what’s wrong with the world today.
“People who know what’s going on have to do something!” she exclaims, prefacing her plans to sabotage the evil church. Keeping herself always at a safe distance, she chooses Steve’s current girlfriend, Ina (Dana Acheson), to go in and do the dirty work. In an attempt to persuade the sweet and seemingly na?ve Ina, Steve and Ms. Skidmore make wildly unfounded accusations about the nature of the church.
Although the dialogue’s overzealous pace felt a bit unnatural during these first few scenes, as the play continued, cast members appeared more consumed by the content of their lines, resulting in more sincere delivery. As they melted into each of their respective roles, the three young cast members indicated promise for the proposed development Woolly Mammoth, which plans to open its own theatre during this, its 25th year.
For lack of a nobler option, Steve’s innocuous and inexclusive girlfriend Ina is play’s tragic hero. Like Steve and Ms. Skidmore, her flaw is that she has no idea what she wants. However, she does not project that void into blame and hatred for others. Pregnant with Steve’s baby and supposedly unaware of his indulgent outside affairs, Ina simply questions the root of their hatred, involuntarily exposing Ms. Skidmore’s bias’, Steve’s ignorance and how very little thought they’ve given to their sabotage plans.
From misogyny to prejudice, spirituality to crime, the play leaps from one radical tangent to the next without ever completely connecting the dots. But playwright Agnus MacLachlan’s inconsistency effectively mirrors the characters involved in his play. In a whirlwind of genuine and compelling dialogue, it’s easy to get wrapped up in his tale. Except for a violent ending that could have been taken straight from a cheesy murder mystery, his work is disturbingly real.
According to the results of the most recent U.S. Census, by 2050, there will be no majority population in the United States. Every racial group will be a minority. As mentioned in the play notes, steady streams of immigrants bring unfamiliar customs and beliefs when they move in to our cities and communities. During a period of such large demographic shifts, Dramaturg Mary Resing states that the senseless hatred presented in the play an example of the religious and racial intolerance that could potentially damage the country and particularly D.C. She states, “Are our aspiring neighbors truly potential terrorists and destroyers of civilization, or are we, in our cyclical vigilante fervor, the real danger in this changing world?”
Even if only momentarily, it is likely you will find at least one topic in this play that resonates. Like the characters, the playwright and the stranger sitting next to you, at some point in our lives, we have all reached a standstill trying to determine how certain subjects make us feel. Amid the chaos of intensity, this off-color play will make you wonder if anyone truly knows what they believe, or why they believe it.
The Radiant Abyss is playing at the Kennedy Center Film Theatre until July 18. Tickets are $10 for people under 25 and July 13 is a special “Pay what you can” performance.
