By Chuck Graham, TucsonStage.com
photo by Tim Fuller
Bryn Booth as Q joins with Jeffrey Baden as R in a complex cultural relationship.
Flirting with experimental theater, daring to pursue truth down semantical rabbit holes of grammatical complexity, players at The Rogue Theatre are grabbing truth by the scruff of its neck to give it a good scrubbing.
Their timing is particularly apt as Russia invades Ukraine just because it can, while here in our own United States of America disunity becomes more fragmented every day.
Is there a truthful reason for anything anymore? Or has the diamond-hard gem called Truth been smashed into myriad reflections of shiny shards of what people once called truth but now turn up their noses with a sneer while calling it “propaganda.”
Chinese-American playwright Christopher Chen has answered the call by creating “Passage,” a theoretical theatrical that seeks nothing less than to strip away all shades of individual interpretation until nothing is left but the oppressed facing off against their oppressors where, just like the pot and the kettle, each one keeps hurling angry insults at the other in the name of righteousness.
Allusions are made to E. M. Forster's 1924 novel “A Passage to India,” describing Great Britain's attitudes of greatness toward itself and its colonizing of India, and how every ruling country's right to exploit a lesser country for noble reasons is never to be questioned.
To make Chen's truth-bearing exercise even more applicable to everyone everywhere world wide, the playwright refers to the ruler and rulee as Country Y and Country X, respectively. In fact, Country Y has so completely dominated Country X, all citizens of Country X agree Country Y is superior. Even in Country X the visiting citizens of Country Y have unquestioned privileges of a higher rank.
To avoid the further influence of implied positive or negative qualities that any proper names and genders could have, all eight cast members are given neutral letters for names. None get to be vowels.
Playing major roles are Bryn Booth as Q and Carley Elizabeth Preston as B. Adding dramatic heft are Joseph McGrath as F and Hunter Hnat as M. Cast member Matthew Lai has several roles – S, D, J, also Mosquito and Gecko.
There is the sketch of a plot on which to hang Chen's observations about the forceful nature of power and the iron clad attitudes that insure the dominant country will maintain its superiority over the dominated country while all the people on both sides act politely and accept their roles.
Those who are so inclined could also make the parallel case of dominant and dominated race in the same country – applying the play's examples to critical race theory.
Act One sets all the rules and gives examples of the underlying tones of suppressed anger at the assumption of privilege. It also sets up the conflict and violence that put Preston and Booth in tight spots within their communities. The second act contains some genuine tension as solutions acquire a measure of resolution.
We are in the land of metaphor here, with free thinking encouraged on all sides. Each member of the audience could come away with a different impression of “Passage.”
This ambivalence is encouraged by an accompanying musical score that is often more sound than melody, composed by music director/composer/arranger Russell Ronnebaum, performed by cellist Robert Marshall and Liz Soflin, percussion.
“Passage” continues through March 13 at The Rogue Theatre, 300 E. University Blvd., with performances at 7:30 p.m. Thursdays-Saturdays, 2 p.m. matinees Saturdays-Sundays. Tickets are $42 general admission, $15 students. Discount ticket packages are also available. Reservations can be made online at theroguetheatre.org or by calling 520-551-2053.
A full COVID protocol is in effect at all performances. For details see theroguetheatre.org
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