*** Recommended *** Court Theatre's production of Fen is very dirty - and no, I don't mean raunchy, I mean dirty, really really dirty. If you sit in the first two rows (as I did), you need to wear a mask because there are clouds of dust arising from the stage. Why, you might ask. All I can say is that Fen is set in/on a farm (that used to be part of a marshy area that was drained and recleaimed - i.e. the fens), so they've made the stage into a farm, dirt and all. Caryl Churchill's Fen is directed by Vanessa Stalling with scenic design and projections by Collette Pollard, so I guess that's where to put the blame for all the dirt. The theme is grim, but the cast of six is outstanding. 3 Spotlights
*In England, the largest such area is called the Fens, 300,000 acres of flat and sinking land, facing the North Sea from Cambridge to Lincoln."
The story is centered around Val (Cruz Gonzalez-Cadel), a woman who is deeply unhappy with her life. Nobody else really likes his/her life either, but they don't know anything else. Four women, Lizzie Bourne (Becky, Mrs. Hassett, Alice & Ivy) Elizabeth Laidlaw (Nell, May & Mavis), Morgan Lavenstein (Angela, Deb, Mrs. Finch & Boy), and Genevieve VanJohnson (/shirley, Shona, Miss Cade & Margaret) play multiple parts of multiple ages - everything from children to old women. The single man in the cast, Alex Goodrich, plays all the male characters, Frank, Wilson, Mr. Tewson, Geoffrey & Businessman.
The show opens with everyone working on the farm, scrabbling in the dirt for potatoes, with a boss, Mr. Tewson, who belabors them constantly. By the way, I couldn't believe it when Goodrich drove an actual old-time tractor across the stage!
Away from the farm, everyone has secrets - and problems. One woman abuses her child, another tattles to Mr. R about co-workers, while another gossips about everyone else, particularly about Val who has left her husband, dumped her children on her mother, and moved in with another man - but she's not happy there either. Val is seeking something, but she doesn't know what it is. She even tries religion. Her final solution is drastic and very, very dark.
Note: Masks are encouraged but not required at this performance.
Fen runs through March 5th at The Court Theatre, 5535 S. Ellis Avenue. Chicago. Parking is free in the adjacent garage, exit gate will open ½ hour after curtain. Running time is about 100 minutes, no intermission.
Performances are Wednesdays through Fridays at 7:30 pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:30 pm. Tickets range from $40.50-$82. FYI (773) 753-4472 or www.courttheatre.org.