Play the Great War Game at Berkeley Rep

Tom McKay stars in Canopy of Stars by Simon Stephens, part of the epic production from London
The Great Game: Afghanistan, receiving its West Coast premiere at Berkeley Rep.
                                                                Photo by John Haynes



Berkeley Repertory Theatre boldly and ambitiously sheds some enlightenment on the current Middle East situation with their current production The Great Game: Afghanistan. The lack of artistic response to Barry’s war prompted this collaborative effort touring here with the support of the British Council. The festival comprises three different full-length works consisting of six and seven short plays each by a dozen different playwrights. The fully staged readings of these playlets explore the reactions of the people involved in the fighting. Part Three: Enduring Freedom presents vignettes tangentially but strongly related to each other through the binding tissue of the war. The human drama in each scenelet is sometimes tense, sometimes humorous, but always deeply probing into motives, goals and results.

On a simple set with starkly functional furniture and few props, an ensemble of fourteen actors from Tricycle Theatre offer dramatizations of foxhole conditions, high-level diplomatic meetings and simulated verbatim enactments of media interviews. Characters depicted range from the Ambassador to India and a profiled narrator to an actor in a burqah, perhaps the most difficult and effective role in the play. Understated hints of cultural artifacts, such as an elaborate and showy high pouring of tea, set the milieu unobtrusively, a place where people wear flak jackets every day and money is opium poppies. Multimedia effects include explosions, footage of the Twin Towers attack on a projection screen and cricket sounds.
       
Many thought-provoking moments weave through each other in a temporally loose time line. The explorations into human destiny and extreme conflict develop high levels of taut audience involvement. The three plays were designed as a day-long event, with time-outs for refreshments. They can be viewed individually.

The Great Game: Afghanistan continues in a limited run through November 7 at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, 2015 Addison Street @ Shattuck, Berkeley, California. Tickets ($34 to $73; varying performance times and dates) are available online at www.berkeleyrep.org or by phone at 510.647.2949.

For a more complete review and a different pic please visit www.DoctorTheater.com.