If you have ever felt voyeuristic reading the latest devastating headlines in the newspaper or imagined conflicts between nations as sadomasochistic relationships that build and burn, then you may have an inkling of "Dirty Story." Playing tonight and tomorrow night at 8:30 p.m., this political allegory by John Patrick Shanley - author of the Pulitzer and Tony-winning play "Doubt" - will transform the Alumnae Lounge. For two hours, the audience will not be able to look away.
The clash between Israel and Palestine is brought center stage within the characters of Wanda (played by freshman Shiri Raphaely), an idealistic grad student, and Brutus (freshman Jon Carlson), a successful but frustrated writer. Their impromptu relationship horrifies and entertains, seducing the audience with a kind of incest of minds on the quest for perfect subjugation. Other metaphorical characters weave in and out of the drama, including a garrulous Texan (freshman Ben Chase) and his concerned buddy (senior Ben Alexander) in a bowler hat and English accent - wonder who they could be? The play begins one way and performs an about-face after the intermission, its fervent voice transcending the arena of melodramatic lights and props.
Sophomore director Ari Rosenbaum first encountered "Dirty Story" in his native city of Denver; when the Bare Bodkin Theatre Company asked for show ideas, he suggested Shanley's latest creation be brought to Tufts. He felt certain that Tufts' globally-minded population would react in response to the play. "Art should not just be beautiful, but also move the audience to action," said Rosenbaum.
Rosenbaum praised the play's intelligence and clarity of voice for not talking down to the audience but still entertaining along the way. The writing spans genres and defies categorization, while its socio-political commentary bridges past and present conflict between Israel and Palestine. Rosenbaum said firmly, "Nothing like this has been done here before."
There are some shocking scenes that would be difficult to take in if they were on a proper stage, or even in Balch Arena, where the audience would be seated higher in and in darkness. Instead, "Dirty Story" is intensely executed within a tight circle of viewers in Alumnae Lounge, plunging the audience into the play's own world. Completely surrendering themselves to the performance, audience members find themselves diving into the rapid-fire dialogue with full attention and coming up for breath during every pregnant pause.
At the controversial Denver performance that inspired Rosenbaum to bring "Dirty Story" to Tufts, many offended audience members walked out at intermission. While Tufts students may be made of sterner stuff, if they become uncomfortable "then we've succeeded," said Rosenbaum.
From the first scene in which Brutus declares that "Fiction is dead," "Dirty Story" alternately shocks and soothes, then prompts laughs from the audience before they realize they're laughing. The small but talented Tufts cast goes to town with Shanley's archetype-exploiting writing, neither holding back their subtle jibes nor their violent seductions.
If you want to get an opinion on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there are a lot less entertaining ways to do it. When asked whether this dirty story had a happy ending, sophomore and assistant director Hillary Shayne responded immediately, "Does the world have a happy ending?" Come to "Dirty Story" while you're waiting to find out.
CORRECTION: MAR. 10, 2006Yesterday's Arts article "Tufts actors aren't afraid to get 'Dirty'" (Mar. 9, 2006), incorrectly listed the time of the play "Dirty Story." It is at 8 p.m. tonight, not 8:30 p.m., in the Alumnae Lounge.
