Art House Productions’ Powerful ‘Gruesome Playground Injuries’ Explores Wounds of the Flesh and Heart
The ninety-minute play, which runs at Art House Productions (345 Marin Blvd.) until Nov. 10, constantly reminds us of our susceptibility to misfortune. In language that is alternately poignant, hilarious, and gross, playwright Rajiv Joseph references vomit, lacerations, stigmata, conjunctivitis secretions, and the psychic wounds inflicted via cruelty and neglect. And oh — did I mention that this is a love story?
The two characters dancing this masochism tango aren’t exactly ships passing in the night. Kayleen and Doug are more like two patients on separate gurneys, sometimes close enough to touch, but more often hurtling with great velocity in opposite directions. Mario C. Brown plays daredevil Doug with a mixture of childlike exuberance, lunatic conviction that his stunts won’t get him hurt, and innocent fascination with the ways in which vectors of force can mangle him. No matter the injury he’s suffered, his disposition is deeply cheerful, and his heart remains furiously open. Ashley Renée-Scott counters with a portrayal of a woman all too aware of her physical limits. Her Kayleen is guarded and sharp-tongued, a picket fence of a young woman, simultaneously compelled and revolted by Doug’s improbable ease with his own endangered skin.
In a long and somewhat wearisome tradition of tales of frustrated lovers vexed by circumstance — one that includes Same Time, Next Year and The Remains of the Day — the play hopscotches around in time. Joseph’s script alights on pivotal scenes in the development of the relationship between the two characters and pulling us away at the exact moment when we think we may have unraveled some of the mystery of their attraction.
Click here for Tris McCall's full review on Jersey City Times