by Mike Hoban
‘The Plague, after La Peste’ – Written by Albert Camus; Adapted by Neil Bartlett; Directed by Daniel Boudreau; Lighting Design by Read Davidson; Sound Design by Jay Mobley; Costumes by Sarah Josselyn. Presented by Praxis Stage at the Dorchester Art Project at 1486 Dorchester Ave., Dorchester through May 20; and Boston Playwrights Theatre at 949 Commonwealth Ave Boston, May 23-27
One of the great things about live theater is that, unlike a movie, you can pack a powerful punch without the aid of a lot of window dressing. The barest of black box spaces, a table and five chairs, a couple of props that could be purchased at a CVS and voila! you’ve got a set. Of course it helps to have a great script, committed and talented actors and a sharp director – all of which Praxis Stage supplies in its chillingly stripped-down version of Albert Camus apocalyptic 1947 novel – The Plague (or its original French title, La Peste).
This is Praxis’ sixth production since they formed in response to the election of Donald Trump as president, and while most of their offerings (Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Jesus Hopped the A Train) are heavily weighted towards a lefty political point of view/social justice, The Plague works just as well as a medical horror story as it does as a metaphor for the encroaching fascism in America and other Western countries. So even the apolitical – if such creatures still exist – can enjoy this play, although ‘enjoy’ may not be the proper word.
As the play opens, we see four actors sitting in chairs, facing forward, with a fifth actor (Dayenne C. Byron Walters as Dr. Rieux) on a raised stage sitting behind a microphone, giving what appears to be testimony as to how the plague began. The first signs were of dead and dying rats showing up in unlikely places, beginning with the stairwell of a building not used to the sight of vermin. The incidences multiply, and soon there are people dying as well. The other actors soon join in the testimony before the cast leaves their chairs and the play follows a more classical form of interaction among the players.
The government reacts slowly to the epidemic at first, but eventually closes the borders of the (unnamed) city/state to keep the plague contained. Fear and despair become the dominant emotions of the populace, and why not? People are dying, with no solution in sight. And as always happens with a certain percentage of the human race during a disaster, the soulless profiteers emerge to do their thing (in this case, in the person of Cottard, a casually slimy Steve Auger). The horror mounts, including a scene where an eight-year old child dies in front of his parents. In spite of the hopelessness, there are signs of the goodness in humanity as well, as Tarrou (Dawn Davis), Grand (Michael Rodriguez) and the journalist Rambert (Danny Mourino) begin to give of themselves despite their own troubles, and the tide begins to turn.
The Plague has the feel of a documentary as much as a play, which doesn’t make it any less disconcerting. It was about two-thirds of the way into the production that the metaphorical nature of the play began to creep in, as I was experiencing the same feelings of dread as I do during any particularly disturbing point in the current news cycle (which is every other day now). At just under 80 minutes, the play seems much shorter, as it is performed with such a sense of urgency by the skilled cast. And the intimate setting of the Dorchester Art Project brings the sense of trepidation even closer.
But for those of us who can’t tear ourselves away from the headlines that bring a fresh assault on democracy and simple human decency every day – this production is not about hopelessness. Quite the contrary. As a serum to combat the plague begins to effectively do its job, one of the players tells the audience, “As soon as it became possible to hope, the plague was over.”
Let’s hope the line comes true for the present day as well.
For more information and tickets, go to: https://www.praxisstage.com/
