California Premiere!
Talk About The Passion
by Graham Farrow
directed by David Colwell
- 02/08/08 REVIEW: What The Butler Saw
- 02/10/08 REVIEW: LA Stage Scene
- 02/13/08 REVIEW: Fullerton Observer
- 02/14/08 REVIEW: Back Stage West
Critic's Pick - 02/14/08 REVIEWS: LA Times Blog
- 02/17/08 REVIEW: Orange County Register
- 03/06/08 ARTICLE: Riverside Press-Enterprise
THEATER REVIEW
"Talk About The Passion"
by James Scarborough, What The Butler Saw
February 8, 2008
Heart wrenching and fist clenching, Graham Farrow's riveting drama Talk About the Passion, directed by David Colwell for the Chance Theater, brims with anguish and despair, helplessness and inequity.
Colwell makes this a bleak secular exorcism of all our demons: depravity, slayer-of-innocence, greed, hypocrisy, and ambition. And let's not forget revenge. He predicates the production on a spiraling cycle of violence - A does harm to B. B in retaliation does harm to B at the behest of third party C - that explains much mortal woe.
It's the story of Jason Carroway (Casey Long) whose six-year-old son has been savagely abducted, raped, and murdered. Not only did Jason have to bear the guilt of his wife (she left him) and his friends and neighbors (they shunned and eschewed him), he now has to bear the fame and adulation the high-living still-in-jail murderer receives because of his best selling autobiography.
He takes out his rage on editor Evelyn Ayles (Laurel Feierbach), who was responsible for the book's publication. He barricades the door to her office and seeks his as yet undefined justice.
The acting is extraordinary. It's volcanic and adagio; it will make you lean forward in anticipation, lean back in relief. Not only do both actors capture the essences and nuances of their respective characters, they pull off difficult transformations at the end, all of which leads to a masterful, thy-will-be-done ending.
Colwell sets up the initial confrontation with a deft touch: Carroway, pure rage; Ayles, pure calculation.
Casey Long makes beleaguered father Jason Carroway a loose cannon, a sunk ship, a broken compass. His stooped posture and disheveled appearance speak oodles about his pain. So does the way he lumbers about the stage like a listing old growth tree about to fall. We have no doubt that at any moment he will strangle Evelyn, will slit her throat, will ignite the gasoline with which he doused her.
Laurel Feierbach gets us to despise editor Evelyn Ayles: her posh style, her walkway strut, her snooty phone manners, the way she initially pans and disses Jason's manuscript.
Then, because of a hatched plan (think of the premise of Assassins), the characters change. Jason regains a measure of hope, Evelyn a measure of compassion. I won't spoil the plan but it's a lulu; and it's conceived by Evelyn whose intention we first think is noble but who actually profits - so we think, so she thinks - from this act as well.
As a coda, in one of those stage moments that I don't know if Long can or will recreate in subsequent performances, he flashes a barely discernible smirk when Ayles realizes that she's been had. It's the exact same smirk that the Daniel Craig James Bond flashed when some terrorist thought he was blowing up a plane but was actually blowing up himself. Sweet!
Performances are 8pm, Thursday, 7pm, Sunday. The play runs until March 16. Tickets are $22-25. The Theater is located at 5552 W. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim Hills. For more information call (714) 777-3033 or visit www.chancetheater.com.
[top]
THEATER REVIEW
"Talk About The Passion"
quotes from review by Steven Stanley, LA Stage Scene
February 10, 2008
"An unshaven, disheveled young man carrying a backpack arrives at the office
of book editor Evelyn Ayles, who is seated at her desk. Too busy (or too above
it all) to even look the man in the eye, Evelyn simply points to a chair and keeps
on talking on the phone as if he were not present. Finally she tells him (still not
making eye contact), "You've wasted your time coming here today," and
tosses back the "clichéd" manuscript he has sent to her, then returns to
ignoring him. The man persists, 'This is my life, and you call it a cliché!' And
then, before Evelyn even has a chance to see what he's doing, the young
man removes a plastic strip from his pocket and locks her into her own office.
'You're not going anywhere until we can talk,' he declares. 'I want to talk to
you about my son.' ... And things get voilent."
"These are but the opening minutes of Graham Farrow's Talk About The Passion, now getting its California premiere at The Chance Theater. Farrow's 70-minute one-act is clearly a story "straight out of today's headlines" in a society where reality TV rules, paparazzi stalk celebrities' every move, and every Tom, Dick, and Harry wants his 15 minutes of fame."
"Chance Theater member Casey Long once again proves himself one of the company's greatest assets in his performance as a young father driven to the breaking point by a senseless and horrific crime and the exploitation of this crime by a self-serving book editor. In his most powerful performance yet, Long fearlessly exposes the depths of Jason's grief and anger, and the brutality of which this man is capable."
"Joining Long is Laurel Feierbach as Evelyn. Feierbach is especially believable in the play's early scenes. Standing half a head taller than Long, the model- slender Feierbach is the picture of arrogance and privilege that her high- power job affords her. She also does very good work when Farrow's script requires her own emotional breakdown under Jason's attack."
"Director David Colwell has done a fine job in shaping his actors' performances and keeping the tension high and non-stop. Martin Noyes deserves highest marks for choreographing the two actors' violent confrontations. Lighting (by Jeff Brewer), sound (by Dave Mickey), costumes (by Erika C. Miller), and projections by John MacDonald are all the usual first-rate Chance Theater creations."
Chance Theater, 5552 E. La Palma Avenue, Anaheim Hills. Through March 16. Thursdays at 8:00. Sundays at 7:00. Reservations: (714) 777-3033 or www.chancetheater.com.
[top]
THEATER REVIEW
"Talk About The Passion"
by Eric Marchese, Back Stage West
Critic's Pick
February 14, 2008
British playwright Graham Farrow's searing drama is like a sharp punch to the gut, the type that leaves you winded. Director David Colwell and dramaturge-literary director Jonathan Josephson have taken Farrow's text and, in its California premiere, successfully Americanized it to make it more accessible to our audiences (as well as to its cast). Farrow's wrenching pas de deux is an unforgiving look at personal pain and loss. Its two characters are a man -- devastated by the abduction, rape, and murder of his young son -- and the woman who published the killer's account of his criminal career, a runaway bestseller (shades of Fred Goldman and the would-be publisher of If I Did It).
Mike Miller (Casey Long) visits the office of Evelyn Ayles (Laurel Feierbach), armed with a box cutter, a gallon of gasoline, a cigarette lighter, and a vengeful mind. What follows is a harrowing hour that unfolds in real time where the at-first tightly wound Mike unleashes his hatred toward "the woman who made my son's killer a celebrity" -- seething anger that includes choking her, strangling her with a necktie and dousing her with gasoline. His voice shaking with emotion, Long unfurls his grief-stricken character's uncontrollable rage, guilt-wracked conscience and numbing sorrow. Playing for time, Feierbach's Evelyn shares emotionally devastating parts of her life (to prove her own suffering) and helps him craft a plan that would exact payback from the man who murdered his son -- the latter a ploy so clever we hardly even see its results coming.
Joe Pew's sleek set design, John MacDonald's realistic projections, Dave Mickey's sound design, and Martin Noyes' fight direction are all of a piece, and Feierbach is credibly ambitious, success-driven, and self-protective, but this is clearly Long's show, his character a hollowed-out shell beaten the moment he let go of his son's hand for the last time.
[top]
THEATER REVIEW
"Talk About The Passion"
by Joyce Rosenthal, Fullerton Observer
February 13, 2008
Jason Carroway let go of his six year old son's hand at a crucial moment and his life was forever changed. The child was snatched by a serial killer, brutalized and murdered. His family and the public turned on him. He is ostracized; no one speaks to him. He is alone with his rage and misery. To make matters worse, the killer wrote an autobiography which is a best seller. Evelyn Ayles, the biography's editor, has made a fortune on the book and is now a rising star in the publishing world.
Joe Pew's set for Assassins is used for Talk About the Passion since they are playing in tandem. The audience sits on each side of the room with the actors on stage between them. This middle ground is now Evelyn's office.
Jason shows up at the office, locks the door and immediately confronts Evelyn. It's almost as if we are watching a boxing match. Jason and Evelyn circle each other warily at first. Jason rants and raves about the horror of his life while Evelyn is cool and detached, refusing to accept any of the guilt Jason is trying to dump on her. Like boxers they strike out at each other with the action becoming more and more physical. Throughout the action first one and then the other gains the upper hand.
Near the end of the play, Jason has worn himself out giving Evelyn a chance to calm down and think of a way to end the confrontation. She tells Jason he can solve his problems by killing his son's murderer. She also assures him that the public would be on his side and he would probably never be convicted Jason listens quietly and then leaves. The actual ending, however, is a stunner, completely unexpected.
Be warned; this is a stark and harrowing play. It deals with an unpleasant subject and the details of the murder are presented in graphic detail. Casey Long as Jason and Laurel Feierbach as Evelyn are very believable in their roles and make this a powerful piece of theater.
Both Director David Colwell and Fight Director Martin Noyes deserve a lot of credit for this play.
The question remaining is why does our culture elevate murderers to star status and why does it seem that we can't get enough of their sordid stories.
Talk About the Passion plays at Chance Theater through March 16, 2008
[top]
THEATER REVIEW
Talk About The Passion
reviews on LA Times Blog
February 14, 2008
Jenny and Steve
Sacramento, CA
I hope you can read this Graham We are from Thornaby originally but moved to CA some years ago. We have followed your career and are so proud and delighted to see that your play is here and doing so well. We loved it. It made me cry but it is so brave, senstive, and provoking. Many, many congrats to you and all at Chance.
February 14, 2008
Donald
Long Beach, CA
I still can't sleep! Why has it taken so long for this play to arrive in California! I just can't stop thinking about it and that's what great theatre does. Miss this if you dare. Congrats to the actors, director et al
February 14, 2008
James
Portland, OR
Oh my; simply sensational. I knew about this play and made a special journey to see it and was not disappointed. Thrilling, imaginitive, scary, deep... shall I go on. And the ending was so clever. A twist that was beyond Hitchcock. Great performances, great direction. Well done Chance. And I agree about a film but does Hollywood really have the balls to tackle this. Encore, encore...
February 12, 2008
Donald
LB, CA
This was very memorable. It's already Tuesday and I am STILL thinking about the show. Casey Long's performance will be engraved in my head. Well done Chance Theater!
February 12, 2008
John Alling
LA, CA
Wow! LOVED this play! Incredible! THIS is theatre and well done Chance for having the cojonas to let us see it. And you big wigs in La La land why haven't we see this on the big screen. A MODERN DAY MASTERPIECE.
February 12, 2008
Kerry
Anaheim, CA
Extraorinary piece of theatre. I couldn't sleep a wink after I watched it. The best play I have seen in twenty years. A triumph for Chance! Congrats all
Write your own L.A. Times review about this production.
[top]
THEATER REVIEW
'Talk About The Passion' a tale of pain and loss
Review: Anaheim Hills staging lends thought, empathy and sorrow to the play's California premiere.
by Eric Marchese, Orange County Register
February 17, 2008
In a dubious yet highly successful move, a publisher cashes in on the public's intense fascination with a lurid murder case by issuing the imprisoned killer's side of the story. Naturally, the father of the murder victim is outraged.
Even if O.J. Simpson, Fred Goldman and "If I Did It" never existed, playwright Graham Farrow's "Talk About the Passion" would be no less effective, insightful or visceral.
In watching the play's California premiere at the Chance Theater, you might think "Passion" was based on recent events surrounding Simpson - except that Farrow is British, his play is from 1998, and it's been Americanized by director David Colwell and dramaturge-literary director Jonathan Josephson.
Unfolding essentially in real time over a scant 65 minutes, Farrow's drama puts one man's misery under a microscope while underscoring how violence always inevitably seems to beget violence.
The man under our scrutiny is Jason Carroway (Casey Long). After having his manuscript rejected by high-powered publisher Evelyn Ayles (Laurel Feierbach), he has come to her office for an explanation.
Evelyn soon discovers Jason's real name - Mike Miller - and identity - the father of a six-year-old boy who was abducted, sodomized and murdered by Stephen Roth. Evelyn published Roth's book, and she's been riding high ever since.
Armed with a box cutter, a gallon of gasoline and a cigarette lighter, Miller is bent on ensuring this is her judgment day. "I wanted to see what sort of person you are," he tells her, his voice quivering with emotion. "I want you to feel what I felt."
Miller proceeds to give a firsthand account of his own personal hell while leaving no question he holds her accountable. So deep is his sense of moral outrage, he's willing to kill her, noting with irony that were he to do so, a major book deal might result.
The accusing finger Miller points at "the woman who made my son's killer a celebrity" is aimed by Farrow at anyone whose publishing of a criminal account crosses the line from reportage to exploitation. Indeed, in this powerful staging, the disheveled Miller indicts the Schadenfreude of the book's readers.
Farrow gives Evelyn enough of a back-story to make her more than just the object of a father's outrage. She aborted a baby to keep her career from derailing and now regrets it, a subject of brief debate between the duo (abortion, he maintains, is a choice, unlike having one's child abducted and killed).
Thankfully, the playwright keeps this aspect of the story in check, giving the Miller character the bulk of the dialogue as he vents almost continuously.
One issue the play raises is that of retributive justice, as Evelyn tries to convince Miller that an act of vigilantism on his part would be greeted as heroism not only by a public sickened of crime, but by the police as well ("no jury would convict you").
In an unforgiving look at personal pain and loss, Farrow makes us feel the impotence and rage of the families of all murder victims. Boosted by Martin Noyes' visceral fight scenes and Dave Mickey's potent sound design, Colwell's staging alternates moments of deceptive calm with outbursts of intensity.
The coldness and corporate efficiency of Evelyn's world are well represented by Joe Pew's set design and John MacDonald's projections of 24/7 news channels on her office's numerous screens.
In what is effectively a reactive role, Feierbach sketches a portrait of an ambitious career woman who can regard violent crime only in the abstract. The tall, willowy actress is almost too young and attractive to be credible, but she succeeds in sketching a character savvy to the public's tastes, and how to market to them. More so, she shows how, when backed into a corner, the woman is able to cover her flank.
Long gives a multidimensional reading to a role requiring him to show plausible levels of sorrow, hopelessness, guilt, powerlessness and rage. From the moment Miller enters Evelyn's office in a near-catatonic state, through his graphic description of his son's final hours, Long's sobbing voice and teeth-gritting hatred are honest and real.
The moment this man lost his son for good, "Passion" tells us, is a moment no parent should have to endure. Such moments are now simply a given part of society's tapestry, the sum total of which are summed up here with brevity and a stunning degree of empathy.
Freelance writer Eric Marchese has covered entertainment for the Register since 1984.
[top]
THEATER ARTICLE
Response to Violence
by Pat O'Brien, The Press Enterprise
March 7, 2008
"Talk About the Passion," a play by Graham Farrow that explores the rage and impotence felt by families of murder victims, has its California premiere at the Chance Theater in Anaheim Hills.
Sunday's performance will benefit the Greater Orange County Chapter of Parents of Murdered Children, and all other performances donate $5 of every ticket to the organization.
The play focuses on a father reacting to a best-selling autobiography by his son's killer and on how people who lose someone to violence often find themselves ostracized by society, unable to talk about their pain and fury.
Runs through March 16. 8 p.m. Thursdays, 7 p.m. Sundays. $22-$25. 5552 E. La Palma Ave.714-777-3033, www.chancetheater.com
[top]
