friday night i had the pleasure of seeing
prop theatre's SLAUGHTER CITY.
what: slaughter city by naomi wallace
where: prop thtr's space in avondale
accompainiment: dustin
drinkability: cheap bar at the space! hip hip horray!
show length: 2 hours with intermission
out of four: three/four
oppressive work place dramas are all the rage in the shows i've been choosing to see lately! between oracle's THE MOTHER & WAITING FOR LEFTY, SLAUGHTER CITY fits right in, this time in the slaughter houses.
the story follows a handful of workers in a slaughter house, attempting to work through their dirty, hot, messy and offensive conditions while constantly flirting with the idea of striking. of course the repercussions of striking mean no pay, no guaranteed jobs, and scabs to come in and take over their work without the promise of returning when its all said and done. most of the workers can't afford to take that risk, so they continue on and endure physical, mental and even sexual abuse from their coworkers and management in the slaughterhouse.
this was my first experience at prop theatre and i really enjoyed their space. they have 2 stages and i'm curious to see the other, as this was very obviously the main stage. the set is divided into two levels- the main stage floor being the slaughterhouse. chicken wire renditions of slabs of meat hang from the ceilings and the use of them as well as other fabricated hunks of meat was such an impressive creative task. the workers were in constant movement and constant conversation and both flowed effortlessly.
there really wasn't a bad actor in the bunch but the guys stood out for me in this one. mitch salm as brandon, a troubled sex-driven worker who pines strongly after kyra morris as roach was so smooth and had so much fun with his words that even while he was a grimy character his game of flirtation was fun to watch and listen. linsey falls shows up unexpectedly as the sausage man, working somewhat undercover with cod, played expertly by danielle sharon goepfert. his accent, character, and brooding attitude were a breath of strange and sweet air to this play as he left you constantly wondering "what is UP with that guy?"
my biggest complaint about this interpretation of SLAUGHTER CITY was the utter confusion that the director seemed to have about what time period they wished to set this play in. while we're along for the ride absolutely believing this show in front of us is in the 20's or 30's, suddenly characters have mountain dews in their hands and listen to an iPod with modern music while getting friendly with a pig carcass, amongst an old fashioned sausage maker and tales of factory fires where exit doors were locked and no safety protocols existed. why these choices? as an audience member i was all but immediately taken out for those brief moments.
other than that qualm i enjoyed the production and especially enjoyed getting to read a bit of history in the lobby before and after the show that connected me with what was happening in front of me. the show closes this weekend, so hurry up and see it!
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show's i'm looking at for july:
organic theatre company's caligula
black ribbon theatre's cowboy mouth
the inconvenience's fly honey show
TBA
+ bonus jackalope theatre's the casuals
join me, will you?
