by dick kerekes dickkerekes@yahoo.com
Once upon a time not so long ago, in December 2007, The Orpheus Theatre Group presented Martin McDonagh’s brilliant play, The Pillowman. Representatives from the University of North Florida’s Osprey Productions saw it and were so impressed they asked Orpheus to do the show at UNF for the students and general public.
I saw the one-performance revival last Saturday night in the Robinson Theatre. It is not often I have the opportunity to see the same play again in just a few weeks, and there are probably a lot of plays I would not want to see again ever. But I found the production so outstanding at the Jacksonville Beach staging that I wanted to see how it would adapt to a new stage.
If you missed The Pillowman, it was a spellbinder. Briefly, the plot concernes a writer named Katurian Katurian, who has written over 400 short stories. Most of these stories are bizarre and many deal with children who are harmed, like a small girl eating razor blades in apples and a child bleeding when his toes are cut off. Katurian and his brain-damaged older brother are at a police station being interrogated. Who committed the real crimes that mirror those so vividly described in the stories?
The Pillowman is a story about stories, eight of them described in detail. Two rough and tough police officers do the questioning and tell stories themselves, but now you’re going to have to wait until they make the movie to learn more, since no future shows are planned at this time.
Orpheus Artistic Director Jennie Jarvis had all the original cast return for this performance, including A.J. Pratt, Wesley Neilsen, Jennifer Gagnon, Jeff Wells, Erin Thursby, and Justin Bell. I could say they were even better than in the original production, but they were outstanding and superb on each occasion.
The group used the same props as before, including the minimalist furniture and settings, but a major difference was in the amount of space they could use. Actors had more stage area to pace and give emphasis to what they were saying. In addition, the lighting design was more detailed due to the availability of the equipment at the Robinson Theatre.
This play had so many layers of information and emotions that I found even more intriguing the second time around. Honestly, if I could see it a third time, I would go again.
The founders of Orpheus Theater Group, A.J. Pratt, Jennie Jarvis, and Steven Anderson, Jr., are batting a thousand with their first two productions, Closer and The Pillowman. Look for another new exciting theatre experience from Orpheus in the spring. Director Jarvis says they are waiting for the rights to something special but cannot disclose the name at this time.
Orpheus has a special workshop on February 9th entitled “Breaking into Hollywood: What to know before you go!” Visit them on line at orpheustheatergroup.com for more information.
Thank you Osprey Productions (a division of SG) for sponsoring this play with free admission. I know I speak for the enthusiastic crowd who took advantage of your generosity. It is always fun to visit the UNF campus. Thanks as well to Orpheus Theater Group for making the theater scene more interesting in the North Florida area.
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