OFF OFF LOOP THEATER FESTIVAL
Theatre of the Reconstruction
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In Wild Dogs, a production by the Mary-Arrchie Theatre Company, two males turn their hostility toward women on each other. In this play by Matt Borczon, a drunken, hyperactive loner named Rex accuses Trevor King, an old high school buddy, of being “pussy whipped” because he let his wife throw him out of the house. Men are meant to be wild dogs, Rex argues–free and always ready to fight. But, he warns, wild dogs are likely to turn on each other unless they have a common enemy to combat. King submits to this scolding for a while, and then accuses Rex of being cowardly for walking out on his own wife years earlier. King may be angry with his wife, but he obviously doesn’t see women as the enemy. And sure enough, without a common enemy to attack, these drunken “wild dogs” turn on each other.
This brief one-act gives Richard Cotovsky (Rex) a glorious opportunity to howl like a dog–that’s how the play opens–and to chew up his timid, sensitive buddy. Cotovsky’s manic energy drives the piece and keeps the scent of violence in the air. But Brian Sandstrom does a masterful job of gradually unveiling King’s own quiet strength. He starts out portraying a withdrawn, self-pitying husband who’s easily humbled by his aggressive friend. But when he starts to snarl and growl back, he transforms his character into a formidable opponent.
At first the only hostility toward women seems to come from Marcello (Peter DeFaria), who seems impatient and annoyed with Twila (Tanya White). But Clarence (Paul Connell) changes almost imperceptibly from drunk and silly to drunk and weird. When he strips to the waist and dons a garish shirt with naked women all over it, the violence begins. The hatred Connell projects is so raw, unrestrained, and convincing that he turns this brief scene into a nightmare. His performance provides a sobering perspective on male animosity toward women.
