The Prague Fringe Festival: Day 2 (May 29)

Sex, Drugs, Rock & Roll It was angst-addled amateur night at Čertovka for the second performance of Eric Bogosian's unwitting celebration of substance abuse, offensiveness and paranoia. Featuring an overlapping series of rants from an assemblage of addicts, misogynists, conspiracy theorists and idiots, the players abuse and discomfit their audience (even prior to the performance, weapon-wielding cast members ordered people about in pursuit of an alternate seating arrangement). An unceasing rotation of impossibly one-dimensional caricatures of rock stars, womanizers and the homeless parade before each other (the cast must have come close to equaling the attendants in number), bawling about their various abnormalities and emotional and mental disfigurements. From the outset, we become the captive audience of just the sort of weirdos one typically strives to avoid when making one's way through crowded public places (criminals, the visibly intoxicated, beggars, etc.). Were there any redeeming phenomenological insights or keys to empathy on hand, the production might conceivably be forgiven, but, given the lack of anything other than rant and complaint, it cannot (Divadlo Čertovka, June 3-5 at 9:45).

The Fugitives It isn't easy to ascertain what one is supposed to think about the image of a deranged man plucking black feathers from his skin, but then difficulty is evidently the point with this admirable reworking of Aeschylus. The difficulty of relationships, monotony, terror and the irreversibility of time are examined as an isolated brother and sister endure a repetitive dreamscape that is much more nightmarish than pleasant. If David Lynch were directing a show at this year's Fringe, this would be the one. A peculiar mix of sedate domestic ritual and chaotic episodes of violence are presented in juxtaposition as Orestes and Elektra play out their seemingly fated parts. The only moment of genuine levity (there is plenty of mania, to be sure) is a dance number set to Charles and Parker's We'll Meet Again wherein the players set aside their traumatized personas for an all too brief interlude. In keeping with the spirit of the thing, our unhappy couple employs the tune in reprise to haunting effect before all is said and done (Divadlo Na Prádle, May 30-31 at 6; June 1-5 at 10:30).

In the Arms of a Lion Equal parts courage and vanity are brought to bear in Peter Van Der Merwe's recounting of coming of age and coming out of the closet in the final decade of apartheid-era South Africa. Van Der Merwe is in his element performing onstage, but his element may not be particularly appetizing for audience members disinterested in exhibitionism and smug self-satisfaction. His character's tale is a harrowing one, and his re-enactments of various approaches to apartheid apologetics are genuinely worth a look, but the incessant preening and self-pity carry (or rather, kill) the day (Divadlo Čertovka, May 30-June 1 at 6:45).

Poste Restante A compelling mix of dance, puppetry and film, Poste Restante is Bonnie Duncan and Tim Gallagher's infectious recounting of long-distance love and the herculean feats required of a separated couple in pursuit of communication. Sweet but far from saccharine, the story unfolds in vignettes featuring the moments and means of an earnest (if necessarily strained) correspondence. The pair is at their strongest enacting acrobatics and dance, employing inspired choreography that is so stark and evocative that the lack of dialogue is hardly missed. A few staging complications aside (for all its merits, the production feels a touch unfinished), this crowd-pleaser is not to be missed (Divadlo Inspirace, May 30-June 5 at 8:30).

Promising: Kaguya, Makoto Inoue's physical theater piece based on ancient Japanese folktales (Divadlo Inspirace, May 30-June 5 at 7). Thumb, a dance/text based performance by the winners of the 2009 Spirit of the Fringe (A Studio Rubín, May 30-June 5 at 10)

James Walling can be reached at
jwalling@praguepost.com