What is Hell? The Old Testament talks of fire and brimstone. The Greeks considered Hades a cold dreary place for the dead. The Mayans had nine levels ruled by demons. Dante’s Inferno speaks of the nine circles and Satan. For Buddhists it is a temporary, albeit lengthy, stay. For Christians, it is eternal. For the Baha’i Faith it is a remoteness from God. And according to at least one foursquare subscriber it is a cubicle in an office building on 22nd Street in Lombard.
In Jean-Paul Sartre’s 1944 classic, No Exit, “Hell is other people”. There may be redemption, there may not be, but each of the other people in the room will torment you in some way. They will come to know your sins, they will be the ones to pass judgement on you and they will be the ones to continuously re-open the wounds of your conscience. While an intriguing concept, and one that I’ve thought a lot about after seeing the show, the script is not the best. Translations are hard to begin with and while I believe this is the standard one (Paul Bowles) it doesn’t flow as well as I’d like and I think there are quite a few nuances lost. However, even with that, Sartre’s existentialism comes out strongly and leaves the audience pondering several questions about the hereafter.
I saw the Albright Theatre’s production a couple of weeks ago and I am just now able to find time to write. Sadly this production closes this evening, so if you are wanting to see it, go right now. Get out to Batavia for the final performance and then come back to read this review later. I am again finding myself in the position of apologizing for the tardiness of this review, but I will discuss that a bit more in another post.
I’m going to keep this fairly short and sweet. While I enjoyed the show and found myself thinking quite a bit about the interpretation of Hell, there were a few things about the production I wasn’t convinced by. Inez (Erica Paszkowski) was a strong character and well defined, however I would have liked to see a less obvious choice made in the portrayal of the “angry lesbian”. Costuming was too severe and too stereotypical. I think a softer touch to Inez would have made her all the more torturous as a personality.
Cradeau (Frank Warpeha) thinks he is a man’s man: he enjoys his love conquests, terrorizing his wife, and appearing to risk his life for his profession. He is in reality a coward. Warpeha did a good job of showing his macho side, it was his more vulnerable side that I wanted a better glimpse at. More insight into the internal struggle he was fighting, not just the external symptoms of it.
Estelle (Lisa Savegnago) is the well-to-do society lady who married for money and decided to take a younger lover to make herself happy. Always gorgeous and a definite presence on stage, Savengnago was the strongest actor of the evening. Her choices were more real and the performance slightly more polished. However, I did feel that she played the role too young. For me, it would have worked better if she was more snobbish, proper, and reserved in her portrayal.
No Exit also suffered a bit from the lack of a crescendo. Bursts of anger came from nowhere and felt as though the director told the actors to “be angry now”. The characters were far too comfortable too quickly with each other when introduced in the room as well. More suspicion was needed. More discomfort. Gradually we needed to build to the point of realization that “Hell is other people” and that ultimately we are responsible for our own eternity. By the time we came to the climax in the second act, the tension and anger had stayed at one level for too long for the audience to fully appreciate the struggle of the decision.
Overall, it’s a well-rehearsed, polished production that I hope has had a great run. I loved the philosophical questions and enjoyed thinking about the consequences each person now has to “live” with. And if you can still make it this evening, go support a great theatre company.
No Exit is presented by the Albright Theatre in downtown Batavia and runs through November 19. Tickets and information can be found on their website here.
