Written prior to 9/11, Caryl Churchill's searing Far Away is almost certain to recall the confusion, fear and horror that rocked America on that day. The same unsettling feeling pervades the world of Far Away, which has been aptly described by another critic as a "nightmare fable." Indeed, it has all the trappings of a nightmare. It starts with a young girl in a white nightgown telling her aunt about a strange and disturbing scene she witnessed earlier in the evening. We never find out exactly why the girl is staying at her aunt's house. (This is only one of the myriad unanswered questions planted within this play.) While the aunt tries at first to comfort the girl, she begins to tell numerous lies in an attempt to explain her uncle's vicious behavior. When the girl says firmly that she knows what she saw (and has the blood on her foot to prove it), one suddenly fears for the child's safety.
Far Away is not a play that lends itself to amateurs, but such is the case in the current production being staged by Bialystock & Bloom. For proof, one need only mention that the key role of Harper, the aunt, was played in New York by Academy Award-winning actress Frances McDormand ("Fargo"). One easily imagines McDormand in the part, successfully treading the British playwright's tightrope between fantasy and reality.
Audiences familiar with Churchill's work (notably, Cloud Nine and Top Girls) know they can expect to see an element of surrealism. Far Away, however, takes even Churchill to a new level. In Far Away, chained, disheveled prisoners wear exquisite hats on the way to an execution, and even animals take sides during the play's final scene of global warfare. One would not be surprised to see "Alice in Wonderland's" white rabbit pop out of the wings (though he doesn't).
In the hands of this cast, the dialogue seems to diminish into gibberish by the play's end. Although the play is less than an hour, it will seem too long to some. Overall, this production is particularly disappointing in the wake of Bialystock & Bloom's most recent successes, Adult Entertainment and Fat Men in Skirts.
To its credit, one can always count on B&B to provide something offbeat and edgy. This time, however, the edginess is too overwhelming for even loyal B&B audiences to appreciate.
