PLACE DE BRETEUIL
Best of Chicago voting is live now. Vote for your favorites »
Place de Breteuil seems to say something about sexual politics, something about respect, something about what happens when people become useless, when order becomes chaos, when people sink into their own private worlds. It seems to say a lot about John Wayne. But what it’s saying, I haven’t the slightest idea.
Although interesting, Gautre’s script lacks any sort of focus. Gautre brings up a lot of complex issues but doesn’t concentrate on them, any more than he does on his characters or the things that happen to them. There are, sort of, three separate stories being played out, each having little impact on the others. Events seemingly occur for no reason other than that the characters are bored, lonely, and sexually frustrated (though why they feel that way is left a mystery). I was reminded of studies of the behavior of rats trapped in overcrowded cages; yet the office world of Place de Breteuil contains only four people, and they go home at the end of the day. Their motivations, even in this absurd landscape, are puzzling. The most clear concept to emerge is the idea that everyone harbors a secret life, and when that life is shattered, a person cannot continue. This may be the ultimate point of Place de Breteuil, but it is so obscured by the many other themes running through the play that I can’t be sure.
Director Rick Helweg gives the office an aura of a slightly sinister, adult playground. Set designer Ro Annis creates an environment that begins as a perfectly orderly (albeit odd) office, and becomes the biggest mess I’ve ever seen on a stage. The four cast members work well together, and all seem dedicated to the sheer fun of performing the play. Margaret Kale Nelson has a lot of trouble with her character’s valley-girl language, but her physicality and nonverbal moments work well. Eric Winzenried adds just enough warmth to his part as the cold-hearted, lust-filled Silvain to make his final desperation believable. And Marc A. Nelson ably walks the thin line between silly buffoon and scary maniac as the John Wayne fan, Luc Francard.
