Theater Online - New York Theater Reviews

The best theater almost always comes out of a company that works together regularly, which is why America is still desperately in need of some kind of repertory system. This has been proven whenever Ingmar Bergman brings over a play from Sweden—actors who play together consistently build up working and personal relationships with each other, and this informs their work. A perfect example of this was the recent Broadway run of Edward Albee's "Seascape," which featured George Grizzard and Frances Sternhagen as a long-married couple. Grizzard and Sternhagen worked in rep as youngsters, and when she looked at him indulgently, you could feel that Sternhagen was using her own feelings for Grizzard to deepen her connection to her character. The result was unforgettably lyrical.

In the new play "Zarathustra Said Some Things, No“", the playwright (distinguished Canadian novelist Trevor Ferguson) the actors (Lina Roessler, Brett Watson) and the director (Robin A. Paterson) have worked together on other projects. In fact, Ferguson wrote this rich, difficult play specifically for these two actors. It's quite clear that the knowledge these artists have of each other has resulted in a production of often harrowing depth and insight. Playing a couple, Roessler and Watson seem to know each other so well that they can explore the knotty issues of the play without fear or self-consciousness.

We first come upon Adrienne (Roessler) and Ricky (Watson) as they lay passed out in their underwear, she on a bed, he on the floor. Katka Hubacek's decadent, evocative set, with its Persian carpets and Gallic architecture, immediately sets the mood for the play: erotic, bold and raw. For about an hour and forty minutes, played without intermission, Adrienne and Ricky work through their sexual hang-ups by using a complex series of rituals. These are very smart people, and they use their brains to constantly up the ante of their sexual life

Adrienne starts off as the dominant partner, forcing Ricky on all fours and nagging at him constantly. But as the play goes on, she starts to break apart, and you see that her sexuality is based on an eagerness to please she learned as a child. As Adrienne fragments and becomes infantilized, Roessner reaches some scary levels of psychic disintegration, and Watson's slow burning, subtly feminized self-destructiveness is equally impressive. There are mysteries in this play, and Ferguson leaves you with them—he doesn't try to explain anything away. He presents people who are working through jagged issues of abuse by abusing each other, but you can feel the love they have for each other, too. In the last section, Adrienne insists on clinging to hope tenaciously, and this makes her a very touching figure.

Don't let the awkward title throw you: "Zarathustra Said Some Things, No?" is a challenging new play, rooted in everything from Strindberg to Jean Genet, and you won't find better performances by actors anywhere. For thirty dollars, you can see Roessler and Watson put on a master class in stage acting, or you can spend a couple hundred to watch Julia Roberts wonder what to do with her hands. It's an easy choice.