‘True West’

Press, 26 September 1984, Page 8

‘True West’

“True West,” by Sam Shepard, directed by Elizabeth O’Connor for the Court Studio. September 25 to October 13. Running time: 8.15 p.m. to 9.55 p.m. Reviewed by Gerrit Bahlman.

Set in a demented artdeco gazebo kitchen in hot, humid Los Angeles, the revelations of two brothers are the hilarious focus of this play.

Austin is the smooth, upcoming scriptwriter working away from wife and kids. Lee is the gatecrashing, roughshod brother with a preponderance of desert dust and dirt. Together they seem poles apart but the wonderful effect of family proximity guarantees a gradual confusion of roles — especially when Lee comes up with a great script idea about the true West.

A deft chip on the ninth hole and a well won wager lands Lee a contract with Austin’s boss. Austin’s script idea meanwhile bites the dust. It is in moments such as these that true family affection reigns.

From that point on the play really begins to work. The scene is set and the hilarity begins to shape. The production was very slow to switch on to the comedy of the confrontation and the early interruption by the interval broke what little interest had developed. Craig Hood, as Austin, began nervously, uncertain how to water the plants and still interact with his brother. As the zaniness of the situation developed, he became more fluent until even the one-liners such as “Did she hang up?” began to work for him.

Lee was played by Russell Smith with his typical energy and commitment. Too intense initially, the comedy of the wastrel was lost in the determination to get the production moving but he more than made up for it with the bursts of insane destruction and comedy later.

The demon drink results in the most appalling shenanigans — mother’s prized hanging pot plants die a sullen death, from lack of water while liquid is

shared in abundance by the brothers. The kitchen looks like the remnants of a kindergarten party — dead typewriter, telephone, and beer cans plus the most impressive display of variations in toasters made for a visually funny set, designed by Ashley Smith. The impression of closeness to the desert was conveyed by the sound of crickets being rotated in an automatic washing machine. The washing machine noise level was distracting.

John Curry and Yvonne Martin gave brief cameo performances as producer and mother respectively. Their experienced delivery of very few lines caught pockets of humour present in the script. American accents are always a problem. While coping with the rigour of the accent the comedy falls through the holes. Interestingly, as the production gained the comic, perspective vital for its success, the accents became less accentuated and correspondingly less important.