Review: WET's EVERY FIVE MINUTES Disturbs with Blistering Performances

You know that nightmare you have where nothing makes sense as the plot keeps switching from one horrible situation to the next? You try and try but you just can't make anything good last for more than five minutes. Now try living that and you'll have what the character Mo (Tim Gouran) feels like all the time in Linda McLean's disturbing play "Every Five Minutes" currently from Washington Ensemble Theatre. With some amazing performances especially from Gouran, you may leave a bit broken but you'll leave thinking.

McLean's play does tend to confuse a bit as it goes in a very scattered timeline. We see moments from Mo's life from when he's happy with his wife Sara (Jesica Avellone) and friends Rachel and Ben (Jonelle Jordan and James Weidman) to the moments where he's being abducted and tortured by two men (NiCK Edwards and Tré Calhoun). The big problem is that even as we don't quite know what time period we're in or what is really happening, neither does Mo. He's never quite sure if he's awake or asleep, alive or dead, home or still imprisoned. And most troubling of all, who's outside the door knocking.

As I said, the play does tend to meander a bit causing much confusion but it's the good kind of confusion as they deftly pull that one string at the end to bring it all together in one harrowing reveal. Well, they bring it all together for the most part. At times, McLean gets a little too out there even for me. I'm still not sure what the clowns were all about. But director Ryan Purcell keeps it all flowing nicely making the shifts in time and location feel effortless. And he's assembled a stellar cast who never let the engagement in Mo's plight waver.

Avellone, Jordan and Weidman each display loads of sympathy for Mo and what he's going through but each in a very individual and distinct way. And even though much of their dialog is repetitive, they manage little nuances that bring a touch more clarity as the show progresses. Edwards and Calhoun are two sides of the same coin of creepy and terrifying with their utter glee and casualness with the horrible acts they are perpetrating. And Rebecca Love and Shaudi Bianca Vahdat each breeze in and out of scenes with a kind of otherworldly presence adding to the confusion beautifully until all their secrets are revealed as well.

But it's Gouran as the victim of this ordeal who truly sells the pain and anguish of it all. He flips from happy to terrified to bewildered to crazed with absolute grace showing off his amazing acting chops. I've seen him in quite a few performances over the years and he always completely inhabits every character and this one is no exception. In fact it may be his most challenging performance yet as he does have to keep switching his intent and outlook and he does it exceptionally.

This one is definitely not going to be everyone's cup of tea. But you cannot deny it's a fascinating look at a damaged man and what he's been through. And so with my three letter rating system I give Washington Ensemble Theatre's production of "Every Five Minutes" a distressed YAY. It may not be a rollicking good time but it's definitely one that'll stay with you and keep you thinking after.

"Every Five Minutes" from Washington Ensemble Theatre performs at 12th Avenue Arts through January 30th. For tickets or information visit them online at www.washingtonensemble.org.

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