The Shape of Things by Neil LaBute - Theatrical Production Review
By MFC Feeley
February 24 to March 5th
Salisbury Theater
Neil LaBute’s psychologically brutal plays shocked audiences in the 1990’s. I wondered how a modern college would handle his work. On Friday night, the UAF cast and crew of The Shape of Things gripped the audience like a vice for two stunning hours. LaBute would love it.
Waiting for the house lights to dim in the Salisbury Theater, the audience contemplates a giant naked male statue. Dominating the stage, this arresting image, complete with an absurdly large leaf plastered over his genitals, is both an intentionally constructed man and a censored work of art, and forecasts the themes of the play (though I don't want to give too much away).
In scene one, Adam, a gawky mass of insecurity working as a museum guard, confronts Evelyn, a rebellious art student on a mission. Riley von Borstel plays Evelyn with brilliant self-possession and high-voltage sexuality; there is no doubt who will win round one in their battle of wits. But it is never clear who is the stand in for LaBute. Evelyn is the shock artist, but Adam, brought to life by Seamus Knight with beguiling vulnerability, makes all the cinematic and literary references.
After Adam and Eve(lyn) pair up, we meet another couple. August Cooper, as Phillip, provides comic relief and makes us believe he is both an asshole and a perceptive friend. Hannah Greene’s Jenny is the most likable character and, because LaBute had little use for likability, her role could be unremarkable in less talented hands. However, Greene is so convincing that she seems like a real person who just happens to be on stage living life before our eyes.
Director Rachel Blackwell delivers a focused, fast production. Spare furniture and projected backdrops enhance the mood. Seamless set changes kept the pace unbroken. The Shape of Things runs two hours with no intermission, but I heard no chatter or shuffling among the audience. Costume designer Stephanie Kramer may have stepped back in time to raid my 90’s closet.
The play explores the relationship between art and truth, art and lies, artists and society, and —if Adam and Evelyn represent the playwright’s ambition and his evolving social awareness—artist and their work. Maybe something entirely different. See the show. Bring a friend. You’ll have a great experience and a lot to talk about.