Review of Will Eno's Lady Grey (in ever lower light) @ Cutting Ball Theater

Will Eno’s full length play Thom Pain (based on nothing) was described as “processed misery for the Twitter generation”. His latest one-act plays, Lady Grey (in ever lower light), resume the theme.

 In the title piece, a single spotlighted character announces that her name is Jennifer or simply Jen. As she begins waxing poetic on her favorite subject, herself, I was reminded of another Jen with the same propensity for extroverted introspection, Jersey Shore’s “J Wow”. Both have the same minimal affect and deadpan delivery. And, despite their protestations otherwise, neither seems to be having much of a party.

The similarities end there, though. Jennifer’s subsequent ruminations start to sound more like the confessionals from Intervention or In Treatment, vacillating between craven neediness and bitter contempt for the audience‘s good opinion.

 

A damaged core inevitably emerges as she reenacts a grade school show and tell. However, unlike on reality TV, there are no explanation screens between shots to fill in the blanks and the audience is left to project its own experiences into the void.

 

The second act, Intermission, demonstrates Eno’s profound mastery of meta. Two theatre-watching couples face the audience and view the end of a dramatic first act. Intermission commences and commentary ensues, producing the funniest one-liners of the evening. “Can you feel my husband’s rage and disappointment?” one wife drips sarcastically.

Spousal ennui aside, the husband’s true pain stems from the loss of his beloved dog. His perspective is that life is painful enough, so why shed tears over on-stage contrivances. The point is discussed and debated, again leaving the audience with a blank canvas for their own feelings and opinions on theatre’s raison d’etre.

Intermission is the one you’ll be discussing post-show. In fact, it left this dog mom so moved that there was no emotional energy left to process the short, solo third act.

Lady Grey runs through April 10 at the Cutting Ball Theater. See it and discover why the Cutting Ball was selected as Best Theater Company by the SF Bay Guardian.

upper right: Lady Grey (Danielle O’Hare) relives a memory from her childhood in Lady Grey (in ever lower light)

lower left: The cast of Intermission ( l-r, David Sinaiko as Mr. Smith, Gwyneth Richards as Mrs. Smith, Galen Murphy-Hoffman as Jack, and Danielle O’Hare as Jill) watches a play called “The Mayor”

Photos by Rob Melrose

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