Words by Kristen Fogle
The crowd is eager as they enter the gorgeous lobby of New Village Arts (NVA); the fervor continues into the theatre and spills into the performance, which the audience is very much a part of.
This is the opening night “Thom Pain (based on nothing),” a 65-minute one man show. The storyteller is not Thom Pain of the history books, but playwright Will Eno’s “everyman” character, played by NVA Ensemble member Adam Brick. Pain is a seemingly ordinary man clad in a simple suit with just his words set against a bare stage. He tackles life and love, and his shtick can be referred to as “stand up existentialism.” A tall order for such a short amount of time.
In between the really big questions like “When did your childhood end?” and waxing poetic (“I speak softly because I want to be heard”), Pain teases and plays with his audience. Paradoxes abound (“Besides all our unfixable problems, we were perfect”), discomfort is utilized (this would be the full minute of silence mid performance while Pain looked us over), as well as playful puns and both corny and clever jokes.
Two days later I’m still not sure what to think of the piece. On one hand, “Pain” has been lauded for being a finalist for the 2004 Pulitzer Prize, it has had successful runs in ten countries on at least four continents, and has been praised by highly respectable media outlets such as the New York Times. On the other, maybe it’s not that I am adverse to the play, I just may not be as accustomed to this genre of theater in San Diego. It’s a piece that I can see doing well in a black box in Brooklyn, a “think piece” that may work for the kind of theatre go-er that can shell out for a play that director Kristianne Kurner says you need to see “5 to 6 times” since “each time you watch you will find something new.”
No matter how I feel, what is commendable is how much the audience seemed to be in to it. Whether they were having their minds blown open, had too many drinks at Hap’s Bar (located in the NVA lobby), or were season ticket holders, I am unsure. But Brick received a standing ovation and many positive comments from what I could overhear upon exiting.
What may have helped me understand all the fuss was the “talk backs” with NVA Ensemble members that happen after every performance (except for ours, as mentioned, it was opening night). Perhaps then members could go into more detail about what they find so truly moving and remarkable about this show.
I didn’t receive help in appreciating the show from a “talk back,” but I did get a little help from Godot. Yes, I am referring to Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot.” (In fact, Kurner compares working on “Pain” to “a mash up of a William Shakespeare comedy and a Samuel Beckett existential meditation.”) It was a framed quote from Beckett’s work on NVA’s wall that started me thinking; I “hmm’d” at the similarities between “Gadot” and “Pain.” In fact, in “Gadot,” Estragon eventually gives up waiting for the title character, muttering, "Nothing to be done," which reminded me of Pain’s modern day equivalent of these words, peppering his theories on life with “whatever” and “who knows.” The point is “Gadot” is not always understood, though in my eyes, it’s a pretty significant work. (For me it was really reading Beckett’s work over a few sessions on the floor of the San Diego City Public library a few years ago). And though both “Gadot” and “Pain” may leave certain audience members with a general feeling of I-don’t-get-it, there are gems to be had in the wording of each, the sheer thought put into the characters’ introspection that we so often forget to have on a weekly or monthly basis.
For that reason, I would say, sure, tackle Thom. If you really listen, and maybe even return a time or two, you are sure to hear something of value in the dialogue. However, if you’re like many San Diego theater goers (and maybe, me?) and want to see something a bit more traditional, it may be best to wait until NVA releases its “Of Mice and Men” after “Thom” wraps at the end of October.
Thom Pain
New Village Arts
9/10-10/2
2787 State St.
Carlsbad, CA
(760) 433-3245
http://www.newvillagearts.org/
To see the original article, please visit http://sdtheatrereviews.com/arts.php?newsId=255
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