Several cutting-edge, anti-establishment theaters jumped on this
script when it began making the rounds prior to the November election.
BNC here in Cleveland and the Halcyon Theatre in Chicago were the sites
for a “rolling world premiere” that began at the Know Theatre in
Cincinnati last October. At this stage of its development, Militant
Language has more to offer politically than dramatically.
Too many of the play’s insights arrive “special delivery” in poetic
monologues that have no connection to the play’s external reality.
Ironically, the message that war is incomprehensible needs to be
grounded in a stronger sense of time and place. Physical boundaries are
entirely missing from this piece, where characters wander in and out of
unnamed locations seemingly free to do anything anywhere they choose.
A young and energetic cast gives it their all under the direction of
Daniel Taylor. Jocelyn Roueiheb is particularly memorable as the
villager who comes searching for the missing Najir. Michael May makes a
powerful Goop, although his age and experience throw the cast off
balance. Joshua Davis, Scott Thomas and Raina Semivan bring energy and
innocence to the roles of the young soldiers. Rick Bowling plays the
stereotypical Captain Crane with a little too much volume for the
intimate playing space — although he makes it easy to understand
why things have gone so wrong on the construction site.
This article appears in Dec 17-23, 2008.