Review: TERRA NOVA at The Town Players Of New Canaan

The play selections at TPNC have always intrigued me. I consistently leave their shows with new insights and feeling thoroughly entertained, or emotionally roused. Currently playing is Terra Nova, which won playwright Ted Tally an OBIE Award for its 1984 New York production. Tally also won an Oscar for his adapted screenplay of The Silence Of The Lambs in 1991.

This play is based on The Terra Nova Expedition, led by Robert Falcon Scott, aimed to claim the South Pole for Britain. Departing in 1910, Scott and his team faced harsh Antarctic conditions, unaware that Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen was also racing to the pole.  After months of struggle, Scott’s team reached the South Pole on January 17, 1912, only to find Amundsen had beaten them by over a month. Their return journey was disastrous; exhaustion, starvation, and extreme cold claimed the lives of all five men. Scott’s journal, found with their frozen bodies, recorded their suffering and heroism. Despite its tragic end, the expedition contributed scientific knowledge and left a lasting legacy of courage and exploration.

The play takes its name from the whaling ship that carried the team. First premiering at Yale Repertory Theatre in 1977, the play combines historical realism with elements of fantasy. It opens and closes with Scott writing the final entries in his journal that provided historians with the harrowing details. Tally tells the story from a "dark place" inside Scott, showing his declining physical and mental state. It is a sort of a stream of cosciousness, capturing his confused mind as it jumps between past, present, imagined memories, and the future he wishes for. Tally incorporated the imagined presence of Scott’s wife, Kathleen, and Amundsen, who appears in different forms to challenge and haunt Scott.

Director, Deborah Burke skillfully directs her talented cast. The pace, stage pictures, and the breadth of emotions explored by the characters are impressive. The logistic choreography of maneuvering that massive sled was an art in itself. Inspired choices and execution resulted in a powerful and immersive experience.

Matthew Bogen plays the flawed but heroic Captain Robert Scott. His masterful portrayal brings to life Scott’s rigid sense of duty, honor, pride, and his unyielding resolve. He struggles with rising guilt, and the personal cost of his ambitions, including his strained relationship with his wife.

Amber Skye Noyes plays Kathleen, Scott’s independent and cultured wife, with elegance and depth. Her scenes with Scott show their strong wills, independence, vulnerability, and affection. She struggles to understand his relentless ambition and questions his motivations, while also being a loving reminder of the life he left behind.

Matt Regney as Scott’s nemesis and rival, Roald Amundsen, is strong and infallible. Amundsen also represents Scott’s conscience or alter-ego. He mysteriously appears in almost every scene,  taunting Scott with repeated reminders of who truly reached the South Pole first. Regney, with a a much appreciated dose of humor, flawlessly morphs into various characters (a British society presenter, a French waiter, etc.), all figments of Captain Scott’s imagination.

The rest of the superb cast portrays the members of the doomed party, each with a distinct personality. They effectively convey the physical and psychological toll of their struggle, working together as one to achieve their goal.
Chris Cluett is terrific as the colorful and cheerful Bowers.  
Billy Anderson, as the burly soldier Oates, is unwavering, brave, and intimidating.
The wonderful Daniel Basiletti brought a sense of calm and reason as Wilson, the crew’s doctor, keeping his teammates’ emotions in check.
Dan Murphy, as the courageous but naive Evans, is both touching and tragic in his unwavering loyalty to his captain and crew

Makeup artist/actor/director, Scott Ramp at Oregon’s Pentacle Theatre, meticulously recreated the expedition’s sled, props, and costumes using the exact measurements of the real ones from the Royal Museums Greenwich in England. These were shipped to CT for this production!  All were evocative and impressive.

Joel Reynolds and Debora Burke’s clever set captures the rugged terrain of Antarctica by simply utilizing levels and glacier like forms draped with a few crumpled sheets.  Brilliant! Historic videos and projections gave us a glimpse of the times, the ship, and of the men in the expedition.
Patricia Spugani’s Lighting Design (with the assistance of Lizzie Lizotte) was appropriately chilling as it evoked the Arctic wasteland. And also created the sense of reverie as it transported us to various locations in Captain Scott’s memory. We were even treated to an Aurora Borealis!
Deborah Burke’s Sound Design incorporated atmospheric arctic wind, crickets, haunting voices, and compelling, moving music composed and performed by 11 year old, Dylan Conuel.
Stage Manager, Liz Allen kept things running smoothly and efficiently.

Terra Nova is intriguing, powerful theatre. A compelling and poignant exploration of one of history’s most tragic and heroic expeditions. Go experience it for yourself!

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