Review: Whistler in the Dark Celebrates Caryl Churchill in Charlestown

The After-Dinner Joke

Written by Caryl Churchill, Directed by Meg Taintor; Aaron Cohen, Stage Manager; Kelly Leigh David, Sound/Projections Designer; Liz Hayes, Dialect Coach; Daniel Jones, Creative Producer; Matt Soule, Set Designer; PJ Strachman, Light Designer

ENSEMBLE: Melissa Barker, Joseph D. Freeman, Bob Mussett, Lorna Nogueira, Meredith Stypinski

Performances through November 24 by Whistler in the Dark Theatre at Charlestown Working Theater, 442 Bunker Hill Street, Charlestown, MA; Box Office 617-242-3285 or www.whistlerinthedark.com

It is a fact of life that theater artists are notoriously underpaid, but Whistler in the Dark Theatre and Director Meg Taintor are getting a huge bargain with the five-member ensemble cast of The After-Dinner Joke. Melissa Barker, Joseph D. Freeman, Bob Mussett, Lorna Nogueira, and Meredith Stypinski take on more than sixty characters, among them men, women, toddlers, and the elderly, for a rapid-fire sequence of more than five dozen short scenes that occur in numerous exotic locations. With no set to speak of and a modicum of props, the actors employ their considerable mime and physical skills to convey all of the people and places in playwright Caryl Churchill's one-act, originally written for BBC 1 television in 1978.

Sound/Projections Designer Kelly Leigh David acclimates the audience prior to the start of the play by screening footage of famous fund raising events in the 1980s, including Band Aid for Feed the World, Hands Across America, and the Michael Jackson-Lionel Richie composition "We Are the World" sung by the supergroup USA for Africa. They provide the perfect lead-in to the drama and comedy of Churchill's satire of the politics of charity, following the adventures of a young, idealistic woman who wants "to do good" in the world. Selby (Meredith Stypinski) transfers from a secretarial position in a large corporation to their charity branch to channel her fanatical altruism, learning the hard lesson that politics overruns charity, while there is an absence of charity in politics.

Stypinski is wide-eyed, brimming with youthful exuberance and can-do spirit as she begins her new venture, but we gradually see her harden as the realities of the world set in and she learns the meaning of the saying "no good deed goes unpunished." Nogueira has a flair for physical comedy and creates Selby's boss, elderly Mr. Price, by hunching slightly, walking stiffly, and using a little quaver in her voice. In addition to several other roles, both male and female, Mussett recurs as Dent, the corporate mouthpiece who struts around with one arm bent behind his back, telling Selby what she can and cannot get away with from a public relations perspective. Another recurring character is the Mayor, played by Barker, but I especially enjoyed her portrayal of the Upper-Class Woman wearing a fur stole who threatens to discontinue her charitable contributions if she is going to be made to feel bad about the recipients of the funds. Freeman shows his range by taking a turn at the piano and as Knitted Hat Lady, a thief, and a journalist, among others.

Taintor makes good use of the black box space at Charlestown Working Theater, having the actors play some of their scenes in the stands with the audience and making their entrances and exits on all sides of the stage. She establishes a snappy pace and gets a good assist from her design team. Lighting Designer PJ Strachman is kept busy with different lighting requirements for so many scenes. The room goes dark for screening the various projections, sometimes individuals are alone in spotlights, some scenes call for multiple spotlights, and there are scenes where full lighting encompasses the audience when the actors break the fourth wall. Matt Soule is the set designer and has configured the theater with the audience seated on the two long sides of the center stage, with the screen on one short end wall and the piano at the other end. Dialect Coach Liz Hayes has helped the actors differentiate their characters with a range of British accents.

The After-Dinner Joke kicks off Whistler in the Dark's ninth season which pays tribute to Churchill who turned 75 in September. They will be producing Far Away on their main stage in April, 2014, as well as staged readings and recorded radio plays on their website throughout the year. It is an opportunity to spend more time exploring the world according to Churchill and the Whistlers are experienced guides.

Photo credit: Christopher McKenzie (Bob Mussett, Lorna Nogueira, Meredith Stypinski)

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