Institutionalizationitis . . .

EFFIE'S BURNING

by Valerie Windsor

Directed by Katherine Hewett

Spotlight On Production - Festival 2002

Equity Showcase (closed)

by Louis Lopardi . . . March 14, 2002

A novice female doctor becomes ensnared in the ravings of Effie, a geriatric burn patient who may have set fire to her institution. Soon we are all ensnared by the fertile imagination of playwright Valerie Windsor, and hopefully learning the same lessons. The doctor claims to prefer the neatness of restoring things rather than people. She disregards the new hospital resident's golden rule: don't get involved with your patients (leave it to the social workers). Yet ultimately she grows into the "web of responsibilities" that ensnares us all, at least once we purport to be human.

The narrative is framed by an almost cumbersome series of vignettes of the doctor's daily struggle with superior, male (of course) hospital aristocracy, and she comes to do battle with the social bureaucracy as well. This is all much closer to heart in a country with socialized medicine (the play's original home) but rings familiar to many of us here. Yet these are minor struggles, compared to the play's deeper theme, and Fiona Jones' Doctor rightly keeps them light. She is an actress of tremendous range, and her emotional voyage was palpable and convincing. Though her Doctor did seem to come from a starting point of rather too much insecurity. I have never met a resident or even an intern who was that afraid of a patient.

Susan Scudder is a brilliant and devious actress; she pulls us in with such disarming characterization that we forget that we are being set up. She had good material: her Effie is one of those scatterbrained old ladies that great character actresses live to play. In one such moment, Effie subtly moved upstage of the bed, for only an instant seeming to cower behind the headboard, as we realize that she had just been describing barricading herself in her room. at the institution upon learning of the death of her friend. It became another in a series of indelible images.

Director Katherine Hewett handled not just the pacing of verbiage, but also the pacing of emotions quite well. The range and power of emotions covered could easily be overwhelming in the play's brief running time of less than an hour. There was a moment in the closing minute or two when the characters became a little too cheeky - threatening to break the spell which had been woven so carefully. But I attribute this probably to closing night emotions rather than directorial largesse.

A simple set, and delicate use of a repertory lighting setup induced a focus on the play's existentially frightening message. When assured by the doctor that it's going to be alright, Effie snaps back "You don't know that!" - It is the lesson that we as adults have come to learn, and a few precocious children already know. It is a dark lesson indeed, and masters such as Inge have tackled it often, though not many have done it as entertainingly as Ms. Windsor. But be warned; it is a tender trap she has set for us.

At the emotional climax of the play, in a few swift strokes the author subtly evokes imagery of fire-starters of an ancient time - able to spontaneously combust in times of duress - and Susan Scudder ran with that image, making it into one of the rare moments that theatre lives for, and audiences will never forget.

Writing  *  * star
Directing  *  *
Acting  *  * star
Costume design  *
Set design  *
Lighting design  *
Sound design

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