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Words as weapons in a fruitless war

By Robert W. Bethune

On Pentecost the disciples went through a confusion of tongues and surpassing enlightenment. Since David Edgar wants to make theater that "takes our times by the throat," and our times being what they are, we can pretty well forget about the second possibility.
The premise of the play is actually very simple. An obscure building in Eastern Europe with a history: church, storage depot, torture chamber, prison, etc. On the wall, an obscure painting, also complex: merely a work in the manner of Giotto, or actually the source of his work, and therefore the milestone of a fundamental revolution in human thought and perception. The academics want it, the churches want it, the governments want it, and we're all set for a fine bureaucratic cat-fight over it when people who could give a rat's hairy heinie about it show up, armed, desperate and looking for hostages. Desperate confrontation ensues. In the end, nothing remains. More detail would spoil important moments.
The play is an ensemble play and the ensemble is terrific. The play is also highly claustrophobic, and having this much play packed into the small space of the Stratford Studio Theatre works really well. Mladen Kiselov manages to control all this compression of people and spaces very well. When we are supposed to know what's going on, we do; when we aren't, he makes sure we don't and that we feel the need to do so. That's the genius of the thing.
Do we like it? Hmmm. That really depends on your taste for language, politics, history, culture and intellect as weapons of confrontation between innocent barbaric ruthlessness and sophisticated ineffectual guilt. These people and events are fascinating, but don't worry about liking anybody; there's nobody to like.

(FOR "REVIEW BOX")
REVIEW:
'Pentecost'
Stratford Festival of Canada at the Studio Theatre. In repertory, Tues.-Sun., through Sept. 21. Tickets: $40-$108 Canadian. For information: 800-567-1600 or http://www.stratfordfestival.ca.

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