Acting Up

Cilicia A. Yakhlef

BARREL OF LAUGHS
@
DEAD MONKEY

Denver Civic Theater 721 Santa Fe Drive
303-595-3800
F-Sa 7:30 pm through March 10

So many constructions can be erected from a name like Dead Monkey. Why there's the obvious reference to dead-- no longer living, deprived of life, bereft of sensation, numb. And then there's the word 'monkey' which can be used to refer to a foolish person, a primate, or the act of tampering with something valuable. Then of course there's that old metaphor "monkey on your back." Lest you assume that this play, billed as "a brutal comedy," is simply about a deceased tree dweller, let me assure you the world is a jungle and playwright Nick Darke seems to have tapped the darker recesses of it in his endeavor to dig up the deep-seeded insanity fueling Dead Monkey.

The play is about being deprived of life, bereft of sensation and numb. It is also about tampering with lives, acting foolishly and those indefinable needs that set our lives in motion, on a road to somewhere ... we think. The monkey of course, is a metaphor for addiction, but the playwright is not so blasé as to imply that drugs are the only things we throw our lives away on. In fact Darke insinuates that employment, dependents, societal paradigms and even love are all monkeys on our backs. The addiction itself is the only shroud that makes life seem bearable and when it falls away; everything changes irrevocably. Anyone who's ever dealt with an addict will find more than a whisper of truth to that bit of commentary.

Still, the play is billed as a comedy and it delivers on that claim. The piece is truly brutally funny. The comedy in this work is overt, while the underlying commentaries slowly soak in through our thick, yet porous skin over time. And yet it is the promise of laughs and giggles that draws us in the first place. Sound familiar? Yes. Form follows function in Dead Monkey, and the play itself acts to underscore the deceptive nature of all that attracts us along with the dangerous pull of everything that lies beneath those glassy images.

Hank and Dolores Wandaback live in a world of oxymorons and impotent aspirations, but life has meaning as long as there's a monkey to maintain. They meet because of the monkey. They become partners because of the monkey. Their whole lives are built around the monkey. Even when the beast becomes out of control, living without it is unfathomable. Boundaries are broken in favor of the monkey, words go unspoken in deference to the monkey, life becomes a token when measured against the monkey.

It is the death of the monkey which marks the birth of the play. Masterfully unwound, Dead Monkey is a psychological and social drama to be sure. But it is also outrageously funny, irreverently pointed and maniacally upbeat. There is an air of counter-culture that permeates the dialogue and shakes up the action uproariously at those very points where things threaten to become too weighty.

Michelle Hanks (Dolores) and Philip A. Russell (Hank) give dynamic, active performances that neither overkill the drama written between the lines, nor undercut the comic irony rolling out of the dialogue. Their performances compliment the nuances of the script, subject and theme of the play perfectly and their timing is effervescent. The audience is on the verge of hysteria from the opening of this play to the abrupt and brutal climax, largely due to the talents of Hanks and Russell.

But there is a third character in the play and he cannot be overlooked. Brook Millard plays The Vet. The role frames and feeds the characters of Hank and Dolores, but Millard goes over the top in his comic portrayal. Whenever Millard takes the stage the entire house becomes lost in a collective belly-laugh and keeping a straight face becomes the biggest challenge for those in the spotlight.

The black-box stage at Denver Civic Theater is the perfect venue for this radical poke at modern precepts. The degree of intimacy to be had in such a setting adds depth to the performances and to the audience's delight.

Direction and execution are very strong, and the cast performs in perfect tandem with the script. This is one of the freshest and most unique pieces you are likely to see hit the stage in Denver, and it is deeply artistic and relevant. Furthermore, the playwright endeavors to strike the audience on many levels and, remarkably, he succeeds.

Dead Monkey is a fantastic respite from banality. The play is an eloquent yet unpretentious little gem that only a few people in Denver will be lucky enough to experience. Take my advice and be one of them. A