BWW Reviews: Hyde Park Theatre Keeps Austin Weird with THOM PAIN

If Thomas Paine is the author of Common Sense, then Thom Pain must be the author of Uncommon Nonsense. Thom Pain (based on nothing)-a rambling, absurd, existential monologue now playing at Hyde Park Theatre-is an enthralling and joyously quirky piece of theater that is meant to be experienced and enjoyed but is never intended to make complete sense. But honestly, does life ever make sense in the first place?

While the bizarre play by William Eno may not be for everyone, the stand-up routine/performance art piece is sure to delight some audience members, particularly those who enjoy their theater with a healthy dose of sarcasm. Eno's been described by the New York Times as the "Samuel Beckett for the Jon Stewart generation," and there's no better description for the indescribable playwright whose peculiar style paradoxically respects and defies theater conventions. There's no doubt that Eno believes that theater, at its core, is a simple interaction between performer and audience, for that's exactly what he's given us. No set, no costumes, and for several hysterical minutes, no light. Just a performer and an audience. And some words. Lots of words. Many of them funny. And some seats. I mean, the audience isn't just standing there. Okay, so I guess Eno thinks that theater is a bit more than an actor and an audience, and I hope he can forgive me for emulating his signature style for the past several sentences.

Eno's strange but brilliant play allows his sole character, Thom Pain, to ramble from tangent to tangent and story to story. We're told individual stories about a boy and his dog, bee stings, and lovers, though none of the stories have any concrete resolution before another one is picked up. The work oscillates from thought to thought, occasionally revisiting ideas presented minutes before. But there does seem to be one through line that (almost) connects everything. As Thom poses questions to the audience such as, "When did your childhood end?" and follows those questions with "Isn't it wonderful how we never recover?" you start to see that if Eno has a point, it's that life's depressing, and for some odd reason not much is as hysterically funny as how terrible life can be.

Director/performer Ken Webster is completely in sync with Eno's paradoxically humorous and depressing outlook on life. He delivers each line with a wry smile and a great self-deprecating deadpan. Each gesture, movement, and inflection of the voice enhances Eno's words. Like the text itself, Webster's performance at times feels fragmented in that you never know where he's going or what's coming next. But you can say with certainty that you'll laugh no matter what, especially if Webster is interacting with the audience members around you. Of if he's disconnecting from them with a shrug and a "Whatever." Or if he's just standing there trying to light a cigarette in the dark. Or anything. You're just gonna laugh.

Though it may be a ridiculous jumble of non-sequiturs, Thom Pain (based on nothing) is riotous fun. Sure, life may be a strange and depressing journey full of false starts, abrupt endings, and various stories, moments, and experiences that don't make sense, but as long as there are brilliant and funny writers and performers like Eno and Webster in it, life is definitely worth living.

Recommended for mature audiences only. Running time: 70 minutes with no intermission.

THOM PAIN (BASED ON NOTHING) plays The Hyde Park Theatre at 511 West 43rd Street, 78751 now thru August 3rd. Performances are Thursday thru Saturday at 8pm with an additional show on Saturday, 7/27 at 10pm. Tickets are $20-22. For tickets and information, visit www.hydeparktheatre.org.

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