Review: EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR at Convergence-continuum

Perhaps one of the most famous, or infamous of Shakespeare’s stage directions, ‘Exit, pursued by a bear’ in Act III of THE WINTER’S TALE, sees Antigonus meet death in the most unlikely of ways: at the hands – or rather the claws – of a bear.

Unsurprisingly this stage direction frequently mystifies modern readers. But bears entered and exited the lives of Elizabethan and Jacobean Londoners on a daily basis. Kept in kennels on the south bank of the Thames, captive bears provided ‘amusement’ by being chained to a post and attacked by packs of dogs – spectators would bet on the outcome of this very unequal fight.

It is not surprising that a playwright like Lauren Gunderson, who is little known to the general public, but is among the most produced playwrights in America, would be driven to write a play about the bear quote.  Her works include ADA AND THE ENGINE, ARTEMISA, THE AMAZING ADVENTURES OF DR. WONDERFUL AND HER DOG! and THE BOOK OF WILL, plus many, many more.

EXIT . . . BEAR is a comedy, a dark comedy to be more precise, about abuse.  (Sounds promising!)

Gunderson subtitled her play, “A Revenge Comedy.”  (One might wonder, with the questionable quality of the writing, I wonder if the revenge is making the audience sit through 90-minutes of words in search of a well-crafted play.)

The never-to-be-classified as an epic script, is now on-stage at convergence-continuum theatre located in the Tremont neighborhood.

The play's premise (I use the term in its broadest sense) is that Nan has decided to teach her abusive husband Kyle a lesson. “With the help of her friend Simon (acting as her emotional—and actual—cheerleader), a stripper named Sweetheart, and the words of William Shakespeare, she tapes Kyle to a chair and forces him to watch as they reenact scenes from the couple’s painful past. In the piece de resistance, our heroes cover the room in meat and honey so Kyle will be mauled by a bear.” (How the bear will find him, or why a bear would enter into the residence is not dealt with, but that is only one of the missing links in this work.)

In spite of a gallant effort from the cast (Amanda Rowe-Van Allen, Casey McCann, Hayley Johnson, Zavier McLean) and director (Kate Smith), and the technicians, it turns out to be a most irrelevant and frustrating evening of theatre.

A series of questions arise. Why did the powers that be at con-con, which is noted for selecting plays that often intellectually challenge its audience, choose this inane work?  Did the author have a clear image of what she would like the audience to take away from their theatrical experience (other than the wasting of 90-minutes)?  How frustrating is it for a generally talented cast to be bogged down for a long rehearsal period run of show that got tepid to no reaction from most of the audience on opening night?

The inquiries could go on and on, and this review could dissect the script, and analyzing the acting, but for what purpose?

Capsule judgment:  I am a strong advocate for theatre.  But, I have to be honest. The best I can say is, if you’d like to suffer through 90-minutes of an absolutely poorly written theatrical concept, EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR is the play for you!

EXIT, PURSUED BY A BEAR is scheduled to run through September 2, 2023 at convergence-continuum.

 

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