The United States of Nothing - SBW Stables Theatre - 06/01/06

Ethan Switch - Sunday, 8 January 2006 - Print Version

Sleeping ghosts lie awake at night writing epitaphs on their own tombstones. Coordination of tickets for the first production of the year at the Stables Theatre trips up against the holidays. Seconds later and with doubles in hand, a stand against the back drop of a blank wall with cards and posters adorning. Familiar types of people flock with their Bundies and wine glasses, their mutterings overcrowding.

A man tries to impart the experience of a recent read. Lynne Truss' Talk to the Hand: The Utter Bloody Rudeness of the World Today, or Six Good Reasons to Stay Home and Bolt the Door. Numerous shots at interjection and insertion into the flow of conversation are shot down. Time and again, the core values of the book fall short and require the constant propping of reiteration. The man is in loop.

Writer/director Stephen Sewell warns the audience in attendance of the sheer nakedness of the preview performance. Surely enough, after the opening rendition of The Star Spangled Banner, a technical hitch blows the rhythm of the opening mark after the pause. One out of so many possibilities, the overall play of The United States of Nothing shoots through.

The production takes a look at the madness of the United States and their actions and policies on the home turf and mirrors this against their international affairs and exploits. The Nortons are the family hiding out in the superdome from an oncoming hurricane. Unbearable squeaking emanates from the matriarch of the Nortons as played by Amelia Cormack. A caricature of vocal style and never close enough for relaxation. A run along the heights of stress in the situation they face and the turmoil of keeping it all together.

Narrative is jerk salty with lines of logic breaking to stand underneath the spotlight for numerous monologues. Set up is nowhere to be seen in these scenes and the establishment of such is cold and empty. Production assistants in attendance and taking notes will have the look of boredom and a runaway mind to contend with.

Katrina Foster and Kristian Schmid are the hapless kids in the family. Their relationship with each other and bouncing banter holds up well throughout. Props, in the total transformation of the Stables Theatre is spectacular, the whole feel of the football stadium is just there in the scant space of the stage.

Rate of astonishment on the direction and message of The United State of Nothing suggests a new angle of perception. Audience members leave in disgust, awe and disarray at another view of world affairs as taken from the ripped teat of the United States.

Ethan Switch