REVIEW: Chekhov Lizardbrain @ Arts Bank, 12/10

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REVIEW: Chekhov Lizardbrain @ Arts Bank, 12/10

POSTED: Friday, December 11, 2009, 4:24 PM

Filed Under: Arts Theater

Courtesy of Pig Iron Theater Co.

Dmitri/Chekhov Lizardbrain, as played by James Sugg.

In City Paper's article about the revamped version of Pig Iron Theater Co.'s Chekhov Lizardbrain ' the one that landed lead James Sugg an Obie Award, and returned to Philadelphia yesterday ' Sugg says that he and co-artistic director Dan Rothenberg purposely made the play less obtuse, more "easy to get" than the version that first appeared here in 2007. And though I never saw the first incarnation, I must say: well done. It's just clear enough to wrap my head around halfway, but still steeped in enough mystery to leave me joyfully wondering about its nuances for the next week or two.

The play centers around Dmitri (played by James Sugg), a socially awkward, friendless botanist who exists "somewhere on [the autism] spectrum" ' somewhere right around Asperger's, it seems. His alter ego/imaginary friend, Chekhov Lizardbrain (also played by Sugg), narrates the story in a tone that's funny but desert-dry. Lizardbrain begins by saying that, throughout the play, they'll be following the rules about theater placed forth by Anton Chekhov: there will be four clear-cut acts, someone must own the house, etc etc. They then set about breaking every single one of those rules, plus some.

And why? Because, first and foremost, Chekhov Lizardbrain is a play about memory and the brain, and traditional theater is incapable of portraying such nebulous, cryptic themes. Ostensibly, the plot of Lizardbrain centers around Dmitri as he recalls a chance encounter with a childhood friend, who offers to sell him his house. Only the plot doesn't follow Dmitri so much as it follows Dmitri's mind ' in a style that borrows heavily from the 2004 film Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, we see Dmitri as he attempts to remember, fakes remembering, backtracks and sometimes completely makes up everything surrounding that encounter with his childhood friend.

It's Dmitri's wishful memories ' the ones that still retain the essence of the actual event, but are embellished to make him feel more capable and loved ' that are the saddest, most poignant parts of the play. Even if he could go back in time, he knows full well he couldn't change who he is ' so he only hopes that the people around him would change, recognize his social awkwardness less, and pay attention to his intelligence about plants and the mind more. This, and the jokes made about traditional theater, are the greatest strengths of Chekhov Lizardbrain. (Many of Dmitri's idealized memories are set on a sort of traditional theater stage, with everyone speaking in proper English and wearing top hats ' which gives Suggs and Rothenberg a great opportunity to lampoon the old guard.)

The play's only weakness, as far as I can tell, is the unimportance of what Dmitri's actually remembering. Would it have made any difference if he had remembered his first day of school, instead of recalling when he bought his first house? It doesn't seem like it ' but give me a week or two to think on it. Maybe I'll change my mind.

Lauren

Posted 2009-12-16 14:46:03

Just wanted to point out that the choice of the house memory for Dmitri is likely specific and intentional, a reference to a common theme in Chekhov: family tragedy around the ownership of property. I believe this is also referenced in the text itself'isn't there some line about the rules of Chekhov, and one of them being "Who owns the house?"

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