{"id":20398,"date":"2015-08-04T10:23:25","date_gmt":"2015-08-04T17:23:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/?p=20398"},"modified":"2021-10-05T10:23:25","modified_gmt":"2021-10-05T17:23:25","slug":"demetrius-unbound-or-the-homeric-midlife-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forallevents.com\/reviews\/demetrius-unbound-or-the-homeric-midlife-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"‘Demetrius Unbound (or the Homeric Midlife Crisis)’: a review by Victor Cordell"},"content":{"rendered":"

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A Farcical Take on the Mistakes We Make in Life<\/p>\n

To contextualize Soren Oliver’s “Demetrius Unbound (or the Homeric Midlife Crisis)”, those familiar with Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” will remember this title character as one of the four lovers subjected to Puck’s pixie dust.\u00a0 Thus, Demetrius was tricked into marrying Helena, rather than Hermia, whose father had committed to Demetrius.<\/p>\n

Our story picks up twenty years on in ancient Athens, when we learn that as chicken supplier to King Theseus, Demetrius is “Lord of the Fowl”, which designation becomes fodder for several plays on words.\u00a0 Trapped in a comfortable, but loveless marriage, he learns of the con that led to his marriage and uses that revelation to divorce Helena and pursue Hermia, a quest that leads to complicating intersections.<\/p>\n

The concept of this farce is clever, and the script has many moments.\u00a0 But which parts seem to work may depend on the viewer’s preference for spoof versus satire versus wit, each of which abound.\u00a0 A classic door-slamming sequence is well choreographed, but the set undermined the comedic impact as actors blast through one flimsy door and three curtains.<\/p>\n

The story line is clear, but unevenness and lack of focus mark the production.\u00a0 Much of Act 1 deals with the apparent infliction of a succubus upon Demetrius and his attempt to resolve it.\u00a0 The remainder of the play deals more with the impacts of decisions that characters have made and the rearrangement of relationships among them, with some unexpected and humorous outcomes.
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\nThe play is populated with ancient practices, having Greek and Shakespearian references that many will enjoy.\u00a0\u00a0 But there is an interesting overlay of modern attitudes and values that we Californians can relate to.\u00a0 Along the way, humorous anachronisms are introduced concerning health care coverage, computational technology, abusive banking, and the hard-for-the-playwright-to-resist, Nike footwear, swoosh and all.\u00a0 The inclusion of modern day feminism, transgenderism, and immigrant labor give more spine and purpose to the humor.\u00a0 However, the instrumentalized Motown music that plays during the scene changes is one modern element that escapes me, though I did find myself humming along to the tunes.<\/p>\n

“Demetrius Unbound….”\u00a0 is the inaugural production of Bare Flag Theatre, and the company has attracted a largely Actor’s Equity cast, most of whom have dual roles.\u00a0 Each actor rises to the occasion, though some interactions between them are not as crisp as they could be.\u00a0 Stacy Ross plays Helena with the brightness and sense of clarity that she seems to bring to every role she plays.\u00a0 In grittier roles as Hermia and Pythia, Delia MacDougal also shines, while Gendell Hernandez’s Puck is a frenetic whirlwind of action.<\/p>\n

The surprise performance comes from our Demetrius – the playwright, Soren Oliver, himself.\u00a0 The company lost it’s lead actor one week before opening, and fortunately, Oliver also acts and already knew the lines fairly well.\u00a0 He is well suited and comports himself with aplomb in the central and one of the most comic roles in the play.\u00a0 The other actors deserve recognition – Robert Sicular, Dodds Delzell, Jordan Winer, and Molly Benson, all of whom performed well.<\/p>\n

As many world premiers this work may not have its final polish, but it is thoughtful; produces many laughs; and will likely improve over the run.\u00a0 Possibly with a few tweeks it will satisfy an even larger audience.<\/p>\n

Demetrius Unbound (or the Homeric Midlife Crisis) plays at the Live Oak Theater in Berkeley through August 22.<\/p>\n

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A Farcical Take on the Mistakes We Make in Life To contextualize Soren Oliver’s “Demetrius Unbound (or the Homeric Midlife Crisis)”, those familiar with Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” will remember…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":104,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"yasr_overall_rating":0,"yasr_post_is_review":"","yasr_auto_insert_disabled":"","yasr_review_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[664],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-20398","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-victor-cordell"},"yasr_visitor_votes":{"stars_attributes":{"read_only":true,"span_bottom":"