Strange Interlude
“….I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
--The Waste Land
Evelyn Waugh’s choice of an opening quote to his famous story of love and betrayal, A Handful of Dust, are just as apt as a description of Strange Interlude, produced by the Shakespeare Theater Company and playing at the Sidney Harman Hall in Washington DC through the 28th of this month.
The set, and the manner in which this story of misplaced love and deceit is told, is absolutely brilliant – with black and white images portrayed on the backdrop, while the cast themselves communicate the mannerisms and ideals of the era as well as the corrupted aims of the characters through a wild mix of internal and external dialogue that reveals both the thoughts and motivations of each of the characters.
Nina, whose numerous sordid affairs, and eventual marriage (which is almost immediately compromised) show how a reliance on cold scientific data to chart the course of life can be treacherous.
Upon finding out that her husband’s father had a horrible psychological breakdown and illness, Nina takes the advice of her new mother-in-law to seek out another man to father a child so that her husband can enjoy the happiness of fatherhood. And yet, the scientific calculation of finding someone who is “fit” doesn’t respect the feelings that come with the love affair; and both Nina and her lover are reduced to a life of misery and secret yearning. Ironically, it is Darrell, Nina’s lover, who has one of the more telling lines in the play when he comments that perhaps Nina’s unknowing husband is the only “sane” one.
This play by Eugene O’Neill, certainly captures the trends of the era in which it was written, and is also a foreshadowing of the 20th century. Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of the 20th century, one hopes that we can consign to the ashbin of history much of the post-modernism that swept through the social sciences during the turn of the last century – the repercussions of which can still be seen in society today. Sadly, we see their rebirth almost daily, it seems, with new genocidal movements and the denial of basic human rights and liberties – all for some preconceived notion of the “greater good.” We know that post-modernism’s attempt at the micromanagement of human life ultimately demonstrated the failure of science to address some of the most pressing and fundamental issues of the human condition. This play demonstrates – yet again -- that love cannot be reduced to a regression analysis.
A rollercoaster of a play, Strange Interlude is showing through this week at the Shakespeare Theater.
“….I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
--The Waste Land
Evelyn Waugh’s choice of an opening quote to his famous story of love and betrayal, A Handful of Dust, are just as apt as a description of Strange Interlude, produced by the Shakespeare Theater Company and playing at the Sidney Harman Hall in Washington DC through the 28th of this month.
The set, and the manner in which this story of misplaced love and deceit is told, is absolutely brilliant – with black and white images portrayed on the backdrop, while the cast themselves communicate the mannerisms and ideals of the era as well as the corrupted aims of the characters through a wild mix of internal and external dialogue that reveals both the thoughts and motivations of each of the characters.
Nina, whose numerous sordid affairs, and eventual marriage (which is almost immediately compromised) show how a reliance on cold scientific data to chart the course of life can be treacherous.
Upon finding out that her husband’s father had a horrible psychological breakdown and illness, Nina takes the advice of her new mother-in-law to seek out another man to father a child so that her husband can enjoy the happiness of fatherhood. And yet, the scientific calculation of finding someone who is “fit” doesn’t respect the feelings that come with the love affair; and both Nina and her lover are reduced to a life of misery and secret yearning. Ironically, it is Darrell, Nina’s lover, who has one of the more telling lines in the play when he comments that perhaps Nina’s unknowing husband is the only “sane” one.
This play by Eugene O’Neill, certainly captures the trends of the era in which it was written, and is also a foreshadowing of the 20th century. Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of the 20th century, one hopes that we can consign to the ashbin of history much of the post-modernism that swept through the social sciences during the turn of the last century – the repercussions of which can still be seen in society today. Sadly, we see their rebirth almost daily, it seems, with new genocidal movements and the denial of basic human rights and liberties – all for some preconceived notion of the “greater good.” We know that post-modernism’s attempt at the micromanagement of human life ultimately demonstrated the failure of science to address some of the most pressing and fundamental issues of the human condition. This play demonstrates – yet again -- that love cannot be reduced to a regression analysis.
A rollercoaster of a play, Strange Interlude is showing through this week at the Shakespeare Theater.
“….I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust.”
--The Waste Land
Photo by Scott Suchman.
Evelyn Waugh’s choice of an opening quote to his famous story of love and betrayal, A Handful of Dust, are just as apt as a description of Strange Interlude, produced by the Shakespeare Theater Company and playing at the Sidney Harman Hall in Washington DC through the 28th of this month.
The set, and the manner in which this story of misplaced love and deceit is told, is absolutely brilliant – with black and white images portrayed on the backdrop, while the cast themselves communicate the mannerisms and ideals of the era as well as the corrupted aims of the characters through a wild mix of internal and external dialogue that reveals both the thoughts and motivations of each of the characters.
Nina, whose numerous sordid affairs, and eventual marriage (which is almost immediately compromised) show how a reliance on cold scientific data to chart the course of life can be treacherous.
Upon finding out that her husband’s father had a horrible psychological breakdown and illness, Nina takes the advice of her new mother-in-law to seek out another man to father a child so that her husband can enjoy the happiness of fatherhood. And yet, the scientific calculation of finding someone who is “fit” doesn’t respect the feelings that come with the love affair; and both Nina and her lover are reduced to a life of misery and secret yearning. Ironically, it is Darrell, Nina’s lover, who has one of the more telling lines in the play when he comments that perhaps Nina’s unknowing husband is the only “sane” one.
This play by Eugene O’Neill, certainly captures the trends of the era in which it was written, and is also a foreshadowing of the 20th century. Reflecting on the trials and tribulations of the 20th century, one hopes that we can consign to the ashbin of history much of the post-modernism that swept through the social sciences during the turn of the last century – the repercussions of which can still be seen in society today. Sadly, we see their rebirth almost daily, it seems, with new genocidal movements and the denial of basic human rights and liberties – all for some preconceived notion of the “greater good.” We know that post-modernism’s attempt at the micromanagement of human life ultimately demonstrated the failure of science to address some of the most pressing and fundamental issues of the human condition. This play demonstrates – yet again -- that love cannot be reduced to a regression analysis.
A rollercoaster of a play, Strange Interlude is showing through this week at the Shakespeare Theater.
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