Exhibitionism

Romulus: Doing the Chicken Dance

Running Time: 2 hrs, 30 min

When you enter the Off Center to attend this Bedlam Faction production, you’re struck by two things: first, the raucous, primarily percussive music provided by Los Pollos Chickante, particularly Joe Trent on a blistering bongo and Stephanie Tomlinson wielding a wild clarinet; and second, the place smells like a barn — with good reason. By the entrance, there’s a chicken coop containing live poultry, and bales and random bits of hay litter the stage. Add to this a set that consists primarily of projected classical pillars and other things pre-modern and the semi-togas and sandals worn by the boisterous band, and you know that Rome, or its general vicinity, must be the place.

The fall of Rome, to be exact, and the Goths are coming — in force. Not that the Emperor Romulus seems to care. He’s too busy tending the chickens and monitoring their laying habits. Romulus is the quintessential Roman emperor, tossing off edicts and laws with a quick flick of the wrist, seemingly without a care in the world as the fall of his powerful empire bears down hard upon him. His daughter Rea, however, is a different matter. Engaged to Aemillian, who is believed to be dead in the war, Rea is being used as a pawn by the Empress Julia. Julia wants Rea to marry Caesar Rupf, a trouser manufacturer willing to stop the Goths by paying them off, thus saving the Empire, but Romulus wants Rea to marry for love.

Gore Vidal’s script for Romulus, from a play by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, is as perceptive as they come (at one point, the slogan “Progress and Slavery” is used as a rallying cry and projected onto a screen), and some of the actors stand out, particularly Robert Matney, who plays Caesar Rupf with passionate gusto, and Greg Gondek, who plays two distinctive though quite similar roles: Mares, a bloodthirsty Roman general who moves like a toy soldier and consistently tries, to great comic effect, to kill himself and others; and the blood-drenched Goth Theodoric, who is capable of doing an unbelievable number of pushups. With a slow, methodical chicken dance at the end of the first act that climaxes in wild strutting and pecking, it’s easy to see that this production has more than a few things to recommend it.

Unfortunately, the Faction’s playing style often undercuts rather than enhances Vidal’s script. The broadness of their approach is appropriate for the more comic aspects, but much of their tale takes on a serious tone, including almost the entire second half. The Faction seems to know that a different style of play is called for, but they don’t seem to know exactly what kind, and frequently try to force the issue, continually mugging and emoting, although at lower levels. Finally, while Andy Bond approaches his role of Romulus with an utterly charming demeanor, his voice is so soft that I and others in the audience sitting quite close to the stage often couldn’t hear him. Hopefully, Bond will address this in future performances because, if we can’t hear it, we certainly can’t enjoy it.

This article appears in June 7 • 2002.