It all begins with an apology. The beautiful, intelligent Etty Hillesum (played by Anne Gottlieb) seems like the very last person who would need to ask for forgiveness, but she does so nonetheless in a manner that makes the audience's heart ache before even knowing her story. "The Wrestling Patient," making its world premier at the Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio at the Boston Center for the Arts, places the story of a young and disturbed woman in Amsterdam during World War II before the eyes of contemporary viewers.
The play is based on Hillesum's diaries, which were written at the urging of her mentor and lover, Julius Spier (played by Will Lyman). Without agenda or outside judgement, the play presents Hillesum's highly sexualized dreams, suicidal musings and angry outbursts. At once compelling and disquieting, the play delves into the psyche of a woman who must wrestle not with the political and societal evils of her time, but with her own personal demons.
Even if Hillesum's story was not a poignant narrative of a woman and her era (which it is), Gottlieb's stunning portrayal of Hillesum's inner self would still move her audience. Gottlieb unquestionably slides into Hillesum's character, and her psychological battles are so real that it becomes clear to the audience that Hillesum's mental illnesses and hallucinations represent a devastatingly accurate perception of the world around her. Gottlieb's understanding of her character is the result of years of research, and it was her original desire and interest that sparked the play's creation.
Equally captivating was Lyman's performance as the eccentric Julius Spier. Spier founded the field of psychochirology, the study of palm prints in psychology, and in the play it's unclear at times whether he is the patient or the analyst. Strutting about the stage wearing tin foil antennae, Lyman brings to life an unorthodox thinker with the ability to throw about words with both explosive consequences and an endearing tenderness. Lyman and Gottlieb physically wrestle during their sessions together, and their intensity practically explodes upon the stage in a relationship that is taboo both professionally and socially.
The rest of the cast dances about the stage mimicking the shadowy and demonic events that occur around the protagonists. One character, known only as Wrecking Ball (Will McGarrahan), appears to Hillesum and occasionally to the other characters while he slowly deconstructs the set. Wrecking Ball swings in and out of the narrative, an ominous apocalyptic figure that destroys everyone that he encounters. McGarrahan excellently shifts from unpleasant to humorous in his role, bringing a touch of light to the depravity that he symbolizes.
Recently selected as a finalist in the Outstanding New American Play competition administered by Arena Stage and sponsored by the National Endowment for the Arts' New Play Development Program, "The Wrestling Patient" has already managed to gain public recognition. The theatrical rewriting of Etty Hillesum's diaries is the result of three artists working in conjunction: Gottlieb initially obtained the rights to tell Hillesum's story, playwright Kirk Lynn joined the project in 2005, and director Katie Pearl was recruited a year later.
While the three creators tried to remain true to Hillesum's voice and writings, inevitably some events and characters were changed in order to translate the story for the stage. However, as Hillesum's life decisions make evident in "The Wrestling Patient," truth is found more in personal evolutions than in the reality that history records. Ultimately, the play presents Hillesum in her truest form: through the difficult decisions that she made and her inner struggles.
"The Wrestling Patient" is showing through April 11 at the Nancy and Edward Roberts Studio in the Stanford Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts. SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston Playwright's Theatre and FortyMagnolia's Productions join together to present this world premiere. Student rush tickets are $14 with a college ID one hour before curtain.
