WEB EXCLUSIVE! "The Plight of The Ruling Class" Review
Insurgent Theatre

Still in its infancy, S-Martkino’s Insurgent Theatre remains deliciously unknown to the larger masses of Milwaukee Theatre goers. Resonating out of the Astor Theatre, its fourth show, “The Plight of The Ruling Class,” is a two-hour presentation of three fresh, compelling shorts written by local playwrights John Manno and Ben Turk. Each of the three stories carves-out a different path in the exploration of the dynamic between control and submission. As a whole, the show is captivatingly rough around the edges, sculpting an evening of drama that is at least as compelling as something you’d pay quite a bit more to see in another part of town.

The show opens with Manno’s chillingly dark comedy “Cured.” It follows the psychological journey of one Sarah Smith. Like any young idealist, she hates her family’s complicity with the way things are. All too aware and too disgusted by her society’s immorality, Sarah must decide whether or not she’s willing to assimilate into its corruption. Mary Diaz proves to be an impressive talent in the role of Sarah. She fills the central role with heart and compassion throughout the character’s progression. Alice Wilson fills the submissive June Cleaver-esque mother role with creepy effectiveness in a story like this. Shawn Smith is suitably authoritative in the role of her father John who runs the family business. As a playwright, Manno has real talent. As a play, “Cured” runs many thematic and stylistic parallels with British playwright Caryl Curchill’s much more accomplished “Far Away” (which was staged last season by Bialystock and Bloom). While “Cured” contains much more humor than Churchill’s play, it is also considerably darker, being much more firmly rooted in reality. The staging is a bit chilling. As seen numerous times over the course of the season, we once again see actors actually eating onstage in character. This time the eating itself plays a very stylishly visceral addition to a very fundamental aspect of the plot.

Following “Cured” and intermission, the production shifts gears for a pair of complimentary plays written by Insurgent Theatre co-founder Ben Turk. “Claire and George” stars Jason Hames as a government official who is forced to interrogate a friend and US immigrant who has made a bomb threat. Here Olivia Lopez plays Claire, a woman willing to do anything to see her husband who is being detained under the oppressive power of the USA Patriot Act. It’s a touching story that shows some of the tragedy and complexity of US-Middle-Eastern relations, but it feels a bit forced. Much of the dialogue sounds stilted and expository. There’s very little here for anyone who’s already familiar with US foreign policy. It’s a bit frustrating to watch, which would be fine if it were more engagingly frustrating.

The production closes with “George and Claire,” which begins in suspense and ends in tragedy through some rather strange comedy. In this instance, David Bohn plays George, a nice guy who loves his girlfriend Claire (daringly played here by Jody Tempas). Claire has a submissive, sado-masochistic fetish and desperately wants him to rape her. Being the nice guy he is, George can’t seem to bring himself to rape his girlfriend, which makes her feel bad. It seems to me that I’ve seen this type of story played out before, but I can’t imagine where. The ironic comedy here is priceless. Claire says, “Can’t you see you’re hurting me?” and she means that emotionally because he’s unwilling to hurt her physically. It’s this strange awkwardness of sexual communication that drives the entire play and more than makes-up for a rather weak, if thoroughly provocative, dramatic ending to an excellent evening’s theatre.

Insurgent Theatre’s “The Plight of the Ruling Class” runs now through May 13 at the Astor Theatre. Tickets are $15 in advance or $8 at the door. Visit Insurgent Theatre online at: http://insurgenttheatre.org for more information.  VS