Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – In DOWNSTATE, Bruce Norris’s unflinching stunner of a play, audiences are confronted with uncomfortable questions

• By drediman
• November 22, 2022
• No Comments

This past weekend, I attended Downstate, Bruce Norris’s latest play which is currently running Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons. The production was previously seen in 2018 at Chicago’s revered Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where it was critically lauded (much of the same cast has traveled east with the show). Set in downstate Illinois, the play depicts a group of sex offenders, who are housed together after having served time in jail. The cogs of the play are set in motion when one of the housemate’s victims – now an adult – visits to confront his abuser.

In short, Downstate is a stunner of a play – albeit a difficult and unflinchingly uncomfortable one to sit through. Like his previous plays (e.g., the Pulitzer Prize-winning Clybourne Park, The Pain and the Itch), the playwright’s latest is a caustic creation that’s designed to induce strong reactions from audiences. Indeed, the work tests the limits of compassion and victimhood, pushing these typically clear-cut and uncontroversial notions into slippery territory. Such murkiness goes a long way in highlighting the humanity in both the abuser and the abused. That Norris makes the effort to do so in the first place is a point of contention that will likely muster heated post-show discussions. Taking place mostly in real time, the play is a slow burn until it’s not. Although the first act may seem nothing more than a set up for the fireworks that crackle during the play’s incendiary second half, the overall construction of the piece is masterful, and Norris is keen to take a good hard look at each characters from all vantage points.

Reprising her directorial duties from the Chicago production is Norris’s frequent collaborator Pam McKinnon (she received a Tony nomination for directing Clybourne Park). Upon first glance, her work in Downstate may appear like your typical naturalistic staging. But look more closely, and you’ll find that her direction is as finely calibrated and meticulously sculpted as Norris’s script. The cast is exceptional all around, giving disturbingly empathetic voices to such unsavory human beings. Stealing the show, however, is longtime Steppenwolf ensemble member K. Todd Freeman, whose performance is at once deeply human and repelling, and altogether unforgettable.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

DOWNSTATE
Off-Broadway, Play
Playwrights Horizons
2 hours, 25 minutes (with one intermission)
Through December 22