FISH HEADS
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This premise has possibilities. Memories, in a sense, are reminders of death. They last only as long as we do; when we die, our memories die with us. And in a way, we are not completely dead until all those who remember us are dead too. So the old man in Fish Heads is fighting against death itself. If he can keep his memories alive somehow, he will achieve a form of immortality.
Any attempt to achieve immortality should have dramatic possibilities. Unfortunately, Fish Heads is a trite and clumsy first play by Liam Durnan, a Scottish immigrant who arrived in Chicago eight years ago. The characters are not believable, the plot is tedious, and the theme ultimately sputters and dies.
In fairness to the playwright, the failure of the production at the Playwrights’ Center may be due partly to the actors–Joe Bowman as the man and Greg Rothman as the youth. On the surface, both turn in smooth and confident performances. Rothman is certainly obnoxious enough as the young man, and Bowman projects the fussiness of a lonely old man. Both have passable Scottish accents.
