The Stage

American Nights - 2+2+2/’Dentity Crisis

Published Monday 9 July 2007 at 09:30 by Evelyn Curlet

If you like your theatre dark and quirky, demented and delusional, then this is the double bill for you.

‘Dentity Crisis, by Christopher Durang, opens the American Nights evening. Clare Wilkie stars as Jane, recovering from a nervous breakdown, and harassed by her exuberant and utterly mad mother Edith Fromage, who claims to have invented cheese. Nancy Baldwin excels as the loopy Edith, tirelessly effervescent and insane. Wilkie puts in a stellar performance as the miserable Jane, while Chris Giangiordano delivers a scene-stealing turn as the multiple personality male of the household, switching between incestuous son, weighty husband and doddering grandfather in the blink of an eye. Throw into the mix Jane’s gender-bending psychologist and wife, played by Andy Pandini and Andrea Sadler, and the result is an absurd and amusing production that pokes fun at notions of identity and sanity.

2+2+2, penned by Jorg Tittel, tells the tale of gormless Abe (Tittel), a drab citizen of a dystopian, corporate-dominated society. Richard E Grant’s omniscient Voice dictates Abe’s restricted daily activities, which revolve around waking, eating the 2+2+2 breakfast, working, watching the Favourite Show and sleeping in endless repeat. It is only when Abe meets waitress Sarah Lee, charmingly played by Kim Butler, that he becomes aware of his limited existence and attempts to break free of its monotony. Penny Lisle and Simon Hepworth add strong support as The Worker and Suitcase respectively - Lisle agile and playful, Hepworth as poster boy for small-minded ambition and buttoned-up sexual frustration. Claustrophobic and involving, the play’s dark vision is impressively realised by director Alex Helfrecht.