Faith comes in many forms – even science has its equivalent in the Uncertainty Principle – but distinguishing the genuine article from the ersatz can be a slippery slope. In two one-man one-acts, internationally acclaimed performer Ami Dayan contrasts markedly different takes on this elusive phenomenon and provides a host of compelling insights in the process.
Dayan will debut the second of the two, a contemporary adaptation of Englishman Alan Drury’s 1970s “The Man Himself,” next month at the off-Broadway 59E59 theaters in New York.
It opens with a solitary man sitting in a pool of light, as if in limbo. His features are washed out. Life has conspired to make him “the most inconspicuous person” imaginable.
His failed marriage, dead-end job and deteriorating neighborhood turn his story into a haunting, claustrophobic confession that examines the appeal of fundamentalism to those stewing in bitterness and bigotry, and turns him into a poster-child for “the banality of evil” that lurks in each of our shadows. “It’s not my business. I’m only doing what I’m told,” he says.
For this run at the Bas Bleu Theatre in Fort Collins, Dayan has trimmed back the expansive version he first performed at last year’s Boulder International Fringe Festival (which led to a film that will be completed next year). It turns inward on the machinations of repressed hostility so rife in the evangelical movement.
Drury’s script, rich in biographic detail, serves as a well-
calibrated mainspring for Dayan’s portrait of a human time bomb ticking down to the wake-up call. Gradually tightening his subject’s coil, Dayan’s mood segues through shades of control, suspicion and anger, as the man himself screws up his courage on nicotine, sugar and the easy answers of born-again dogma, preparing to take his stand.
The opening play is the familiar “A Tale of a Tiger,” which Dayan has performed numerous times around Colorado over the past several years.
Nobel laureate Dario Fo’s “Tale” is at once a cautionary political allegory and a redemptive Homeric epic. Dayan’s free adaptation mixes the innocence of classic storytelling with the practicality of contemporary humor to draw us in to a fabulous world where all things are possible.
As a wounded Chinese soldier, given up for dead by his comrades, Dayan makes the most of Fo’s penchant for breaking the fourth wall by establishing an engaging dialogue with the audience and then leveraging this bond to invest them in his adventure.
Miki Ben Cnaan’s versatile set – representing a mountain and a cave, as well a tigress’ underbelly – serves Dayan’s imaginative and graceful approach as he imitates man and beast alike, while framing the folk tale with a series of topical references worthy of the best comedy club satire.
Finally, with Fo’s blessing, Dayan reconceives the story’s ending to emphasize the connection between healing and faith and turns responsibility for employing these powers back on the audience, revealing a crucial but generally ignored element of Western spirituality latent in this colorful Oriental drama.
Juxtaposing the two pieces, Dayan offers us a litmus test for faith. “And what rough beast, its hour come round at last, Slouches towards Bethlehem to be born?” Shall it be Fo’s tiger with its healing balm or Drury’s serpent with its lethal venom?
Bob Bows also reviews theater for KUVO/89.3 FM, at coloradodrama.com, and for Variety. He can be reached at Bbows@coloradodrama.com
“A Tale of a Tiger” and “The Man Himself”
The Man Himself | *** RATING – A Tale of a Tiger | **** RATING
SOLO ONE-ACT PLAYS|Bas Bleu Theatre Company, 401 Pine St., Fort Collins|Written by Dario Fo (“Tiger”) and Alan Drury (“Man”)| Adapted and performed by Ami Dayan|THROUGH SATURDAY|7:30 p.m. today, Friday and Saturday|2 hours, 30 minutes|$10-$19| 970-498-8949