Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – A pair of Off-Broadway plays pierce the soul with uncompromising artistry: Yasushi Inoue’s THE HUNTING GUN and Zora Howard’s HANG TIME

• By drediman
• March 21, 2023
• No Comments

I’m still thinking about a pair of Off-Broadway plays I attended this past weekend, both of which pierced my soul with their uncompromising theatrical artistry and vision. Here are my thoughts on them.

THE HUNTING GUN
Baryshnikov Arts Center
Through April 15

First up is the stage iteration of Yasushi Inoue’s The Hunting Gun at Baryshnikov Arts Center (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Based on a 1949 Japanese novella of the same name, the work tells the story of an adulterous romance between a married man and his wife’s cousin. Recounted through three vividly-written letters (from the perspectives of the man’s wife, his mistress, and his mistress’s daughter), the piece is a fascinating, layered investigation of female identity vis-à-vis adultery. The three points of view give the proceedings a Rashomon-like quality that infuses complexity to the central relationships. Elegantly adapted for the stage by Serge Lamothe, the work translates beautifully to theatrical format, especially as articulated through the hypnotic staging by François Girard (who is perhaps best known to New York arts fans for having directed the Met’s last three new productions of Wagner operas). His work here is both elemental and deeply poetic, as if suspended in time and space; it’s altogether unforgettable. The production stars the great Mikhail Baryshnikov and Miki Nakatani as both the man and the various women in his life, respectively. Nakatani, in particular, is astonishing as she utterly transforms herself for each letter (in turn girlish, fiery, and serene). In an appropriately wordless role, Baryshnikov strikingly completes Girard’s gorgeous procession of stage pictures.

HANG TIME
The Flea
Through April 3

Then over at The Flea, we have Hang Time, a powerful theatrical study by Zora Howard (RECOMMENDED). A Pulitzer Prize finalist a few years ago for her play Stew (which I caught at the indispensable Soho Rep), Howard has made a name for herself for exploring Black trauma. After having focused on the inter-generational experiences of Black women in Stew, she here delves into the lives of three Black men, each of whom appear to be intrinsically linked to a tree. In fact, it’s horrifically suggested that they were lynched on its branches, a notion that’s made clear as soon as audience members enter the upstairs black box space. It’s a haunting visual tableau whose grasp only intensifies as Howard’s medition of a play unfolds (the playwright is also credited for directing the fearless, clear-eyed production). In its theatrical conceit, the conversational yet representational play – a terrifying diorama come to probing life – calls to mind such surreal plays as Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days or even Agnes Borinsky’s The Trees currently at Playwrights Horizons. And at only an hour in length, the play is nonetheless an unflinching glimpse at the unspeakable trauma lurking just beneath the proverbial bark.