University of Virginia Library

Improbable Events

For the audience to accept this
improbable series of events, two
things must be achieved in
production. First, the audience has
to be led into a frame of mind
where they'll accept anything,
however unlikely, however
outlandish (Joe Orton, the late
British playwright, was a master at
this sort of thing). The director
must take an absurdist's approach
and make the material float, lift it
off the ground, entirely out of the
realm of reality. Mr. Raiken's
staging leans in this direction, but
never takes the gigantic leap into
romantic fantasy that's required
and, consequently, the show
remains earthbound.