Published in The News
Tribune, May 13, 2016
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| from left: Pat Sibley as Alta, Aaron Lamb as George, and Russ Holm as Resten |
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| Alyssa Ky as Emma and Aaron Lamb as George |
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| Russ Holm as Resten and Pat Sibley as Altaall photos courtesy Harlequin Productions |
“The Language
Archive.” It’s a title that conjures up dusty old libraries and esoteric
and pedantic discussions between intellectuals. It is also a little-known but
wonderfully quirky play now running at Harlequin Productions in Olympia. Be it
ever so odd and intelligent, it is not just a play for intellectuals. It is a
play that is easily understood and that can touch the hearts of all. It begins
as a comedy that – especially when Russ Holm as Resten and Pat Sibley as Alta
first appear – is insanely funny. But it does not remain solely comedic. It
becomes a sweet and touching love story that looks at all sides of love and
language and the barriers that prevent human beings from speaking from their
hearts.
George (Aaron Lamb) is a
linguist who knows many languages but has no words to speak to his wife, Mary
(Caitlin McCown) when she says she is leaving him. The implication from Mary is
that he has never been good at speaking to her. She’s not very good at communicating
with him either. The best she can do is to leave strange notes to him in
strange places. He calls her notes bad poetry.
George can say “I love you” in Esperanto, but he doesn’t know
how to say it in English, at least not to anyone he actually cares about. Mary
does not know how to speak from her heart either, nor does George’s assistant,
Emma (Alyssa Kay). As it turns out, the only people who are able to communicate
are Resten and Alta, the last two people in the world who can speak a dying
(fictional) language. They can also speak in English, but only in anger, as
they do in a great absurdist comical scene, because to them English is the
language of anger.
Balancing somewhere between
lyrical romance, fantasy and farce, “The Language Archive”
does not attempt to portray reality. Actors step out of scenes to speak
directly to the audience (the first time George does this, Mary says, “You know
I can hear you, don’t you?”) and characters and scenes roll in on a revolving
stage in a way that lends to the entire production the feel of a silent movie. Except,
of course, it’s not silent; it is filled with words.
The five-person cast is splendid.
Lamb plays George as a bumbling man with many uncomfortable tics who can wax
eloquently when speaking of his love of languages but who is tongue-tied when
trying to speak to Mary and Emma. A veteran of many challenging roles at
Harlequin and elsewhere, including leading roles in To Kill a Mockinbird, Jekyll
and Hyde and The Mating Dance of the
Werewolf, Lamb displays skill at bringing a wide range of characters to
life, as he skillfully does once again in this production.
Holm and Sibley play outsized
characters with comical voices and gestures worthy of a Marx Brother or a
member of Monty Python, not just as the very loveable Resten and Alta, but also
as a baker and Zamenhof, a famous linguist who is actually dead (both played by
Holm) and as a language instructor and a train conductor (Sibley).
The set by Jeannie Beirne is
ingenious. The stage is absolutely bare except for a screen at the back wall.
Furniture, appliances, and other set pieces come in and out on a revolving
stage and lovely little watercolors of libraries, kitchens, train stations and
other settings are projected against the back wall to simulate various settings.
Looking something like New Yorker illustrations, these distinctive scenes were
painted by Beirne.
There are also unlisted
stagehands and probably dressers who are not listed in the program but who do a
monumentally heroic job backstage swapping out large set pieces and helping
bring about quick costume changes, and doing it all in utter silence. These are
the people who are seldom acknowledged but who are responsible for the magic
and wonder of live theater. In this show they work with stage manager Michelle
Himlie and assistant stage manager Laurie Hubbs.
WHEN: 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, 2 p.m., through May 28
WHERE: State Theater, 202 E. 4th Ave., Olympia
TICKETS: $20-$34
INFORMATION: 360-786-0151;
http://www.harlequinproductions.org/
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