Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Streaming Diary: Daniel Kitson (DOT. DOT. DOT.), Dael Olandersmith (UNTIL THE FLOOD), and Bill Irwin (ON BECKETT / IN SCREEN) shine considerably in their timely solo shows

• By drediman
• November 22, 2020
• No Comments

This past week, I streamed an uncommonly strong trio of solo performances, all of them timely to our current predicament. Here are my thoughts.

DOT. DOT. DOT.
Daniel Kitson
Lawrence Batley Theatre

Streamed live last week from the Lawrence Batley Theatre in the U.K. was monologuist/comedian Daniel Kitson in his latest show Dot. Dot. Dot. (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). The topic of his latest rant is, unsurprisingly, the global pandemic, to which Mr. Kitson applies his typically unsparing treatment. I’ve been following Mr. Kitson’s amusingly skewed works for a while now (I catch his shows whenever they play New York), and this one is pretty representative of his previous output. Like most top tier solo performers, his mind works transparently and at a million miles a minute. It’s a marvel to behold, especially when combined with his frumpy, grumpy old man persona. Opinionated and especially full of despair this go-around, Mr. Kitson in his new show rips into – almost literally, via a tableful of post-it note prompts – a dizzying parade of obsessively documented moments from his pandemic experience so far (e.g., fraught encounters with kids in his neighborhood, fragile dealings with his friends and family). For the piece’s sizable list of woeful anxieties, big and small, the work unexpectedly ends on a hopeful note. As with all things, this too shall pass, the brilliant Mr. Kitson reassuringly, mercifully reminds us.

UNTIL THE FLOOD
Dael Olandersmith
Rattlestick Playwrights Theater

Then we have Dael Olandersmith, whose one-woman show Until the Flood (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED) is currently streaming online at no cost via WNET’s wonderful All Arts platform. The show, which I caught in person in early 2018 at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater (where it was filmed) and is sadly even more relevant today, is a plaintive but clear-eyed meditation on the 2014 Ferguson, MO killing of 18-year-old Michael Brown at the hands of policeman Darren Wilson. The show draws on the kind of interview-based documentary theater made famous by Anna Deavere Smith, whereby Ms. Olandersmith painstakingly animates interview transcripts (on the topics of Michael Brown’s killing and racism in this country at large) through the sheer force of her acting. The end result is unexpectedly well-balanced, an efficient “Rashomon”-like account of the Ferguson occurrence that very rarely feels didactic. Ms. Olandersmith’s performance is as breathtaking and muscular as I remember it. She all but disappears into her diverse array of interviewees, mimicking their speech patterns and mannerisms with astonishing accuracy and ease.

ON BECKETT / IN SCREEN
Bill Irwin
Irish Repertory Theatre

Another solo show that’s been brought back virtually is Bill Irwin’s On Beckett. The Irish Repertory Theatre has done more than simply stream a film capture of its production from two years ago. For this pandemic rendering, the esteemed Off-Broadway company has adapted the piece specifically for online streaming, rechristening the show On Beckett / In Screen (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). For many of us, the pandemic has been a dark time of isolation and existential musing. Of the playwrights out there, who better to encapsulate the conundrum of the times than Samuel Beckett, whose theatrical and literary works severely but poetically get to the heart of the human experience. Primarily culling material from Texts for Nothing and the seminal Waiting for Godot, Mr. Irwin digs deep into Beckett’s dense linguistic puzzles, illuminating thoughtfully chosen passages with actorly instinct and considerable panache. For all the bleakness of Beckett’s worldview, Mr. Irwin’s performance boldly shrugs in the face of it all as only he can. Mr. Irwin is one of theater’s treasures, a clown-like thespian with extraordinary control, timing, and self-awareness. Although it was a treat to experience his unique treasure trove of gifts in close-up, I missed delighting in Mr. Irwin’s unparalleled physical stage antics in person.