Intellectual Drama
San Francisco, CA 94123
+1 415 441 8822
http://www.magictheatre.org
Review © 2009, Wcities
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Intellectual Drama |
Fort Mason Center, Building D San Francisco, CA 94123 +1 415 441 8822 http://www.magictheatre.org |
Luminescence Dating, the first co-production by San Francisco's A.C.T. and the Magic Theatre, tackles the intersections between science and romance and truth and fiction. Pairing A.C.T.'s trademark ambition with the intimacy of the Magic Theatre, the play grasps truths perhaps not otherwise so attainable. Set in the dank basement offices of an unnamed university's archaeology department, the drama revolves around a trio of colleagues dealing with lost artifacts and dashed hopes. A labor of love by A.C.T. Artistic Director Carey Perloff, Luminescence Dating grapples with intellectual ideas usually relegated to academia. Here, however, they are skillfully woven into the drama. Protagonist Angela Hart (René Augesen) is a wary archaeologist in the throes of a decades-long quest for a missing marble nude of Aphrodite. Moral support comes from catty sarcasms spouted by her queer-theorist co-worker and best friend Victor (Gregory Wallace). They plow through their crises at work and troubles in the bedroom, many of which involve the third member of their clique, Nigel (Stephen Baker Turner), a Brit preoccupied with military history and given to self-aggrandizement and professional betrayal. When an artifact discovered at one of Nigel's digs appears related to Angela's Aphrodite, drama starts to unfold. Are Nigel's findings the remains of a colossal massacre? If so, what role did Aphrodite play? As they piece together the puzzle, in the collaborative-but-competitive manner for which scientists of every stripe are known, the complexities in the relationships between Nigel and the others come to light. Each character champions a different school of thought with regard to how archeologists and historians must operate. Angela is swept up by the romance of ancient poetry, reading and rereading, looking for – and finding – important clues. Victor is all about theory, looking briefly at the facts and then feeling his way toward conclusions. Nigel demands cold, hard data, seemingly unwilling to accept ideas even the least bit far fetched. At one point, in critiquing the methods of his more emotionally inclined peers, Nigel exclaims, "Anything is possible if you twist the lens enough!" With that, Luminescence Dating heads full bore into the question of how history is written. The play posits that no scientist or historian, however professional, is without biases. Therefore, all of history is subject to subjectivity, and the very nature of truth itself is called into question. In the end, thanks in part to the musings of a curious janitor (Ching Valdez-Aran), the group gets closer to the answers they've sought, and it becomes clear that, even if history is not concrete, love can be. - Allan Hough Review © 2009, Wcities |
 Luminescence Dating (Magic Theatre) Photo: wcities |
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