Love and Information
Caryl
Churchill
Fifty-seven
disparate scenes, lasting a few seconds to a few minutes, pass before us with
little pause in American Conservatory Theatre’s Love and Information by much-celebrated Caryl Churhill. They are divided with no apparent logic into six groupings
that are introduced on a large, background screen by Instagram-like faces of
random people whose flashing pictures eventually form a number to announce the
next clumping of scenes. The cast
of twelve moves in and out of the scenes usually in duets, sometimes in triads
or other configurations, with solo appearances punctuating the flow from time
to time (like an old man wandering in a robe or a woman looking for a moment
out of a door for her kitty). Once
in a while, the scenes are partially or totally performed on the projection screen
before us. The result is at first
fascinating in the variety of presentation, the many different subjects tackled
in the miniscule vignettes, and in the flow of non-named characters who come
and go, mostly never to appear again.
But as the 90-minute show flickers through bits of unfinished stories, I
found myself checking my watch a number of times to see just how much longer
this rather meaningless display of humanity was going to continue parading
before us.
The show
opens with one woman trying to pry out of another a secret that eventually is
whispered in her ear, to her horror of whatever was revealed. Then we quickly move to two high school
girls one-upping each other on their knowledge of some, shared teen idol
(“What’s his favorite smell? You
don’t know, do you?”). Future
snippets include a man graphically describing over a dinner date his research
that involves ripping off chicken heads, a guy confronting his boss for firing
him via email (“Just tell me I am fired … Can’t you do that?”), a knitting
grandma telling a little girl a fantasy story (“And then the lion ate him”),
and a man and woman stuffing envelopes serenaded by “Oh Happy Day.” A few are actually quite funny (like
one person rattling off the word ‘table’ in many languages to the bland
observation of the other, “But I guess it is still just a table to me”). Some scenes last into the 3-5 minute
length and almost become intriguing in the story unfolding (e.g., two, dining
ex-lovers who are recalling their past with neither man able to recognize the
significant moments remembered by the other or a woman doing all she can to
help a man with apparent amnesia re-discover she is his wife). But these, like most scenes short or
long, end with no resolution and often no real meaning at all, which -- after
the thirtieth, fortieth or fiftieth -- becomes somewhat frustrating. The most persistent ending to scenes is
a doorbell, a knock, or just an amble off the stage mid-sentence or thought.
The cast
itself is stellar in reputation, many of whom are well known and loved by Bay
Area audiences. However, there is
not much chance for most of them really to shine in any one role; and
remembering who played what part, when (even for well-recognized actors) is
next to impossible by evening’s end.
If Love and Information was chosen to show off the possibilities of the new
Strand Theatre with its big stage in a rather intimate setting, its video and
sound capabilities, and its opportunity for A.C.T. to venture into newer, more
risky works than its larger Geary stage allows, then the choice worked. If the purpose of Caryl Churhill’s Love and Information is to illustrate how dulled and over-loaded we will
all become when bombarded repeatedly and seemingly without end with short
amounts of unconnected information, then she has totally succeeded in A.C.T.’s
inaugural production at the Strand.
If, however, the production is also supposed to be engrossing,
entertaining, and exciting, then I fear it falls way short of meeting
intentions. Ninety minutes and
fifty-seven scenes unfortunately all add up to not much at all.
Rating: 2
E’s
Love and Information continues at American
Conservatory Theatre’s Strand Theatre, 1127 Market Street, through August 9,
2015. Tickets are available online
at http://www.act.sf.org/home/box_office/mainstage/love_and_information.html
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