10/20/14, 12:03 PM The Durango Herald 10/13/2014 | In Pagosa play, madness and obsession reign

Page 1 of 2 http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20141013/COLUMNISTS31/141019808
Monday, October 20, 2014 Editions: HERALD Subscribe Mobile
Safari Power Saver
Click to Start Flash Plug-in
Fair

44F
News
Local & Regional Webcams National & World Education Business Good Earth Obituaries Real Estate
Sports Arts & Entertainment Lifestyles Opinion Classieds Weather Marketplace
Home Page Columnists Culture Gulch In Pagosa play, madness and obsession reign
B
In Pagosa play, madness and obsession
reign
etween Macbeth and Thomas Magill theres a certain madness.
The question is: Whats the difference between a man who kills for personal ambition
and one obsessed by a soiled Eden?
This weekend, the MET Live in HD opened its season with a stark modern staging of Verdis
Macbeth opera. From the overture to its bloody end, obsession reigned.
You could say the same for Enda Walshs spellbinding play Misterman, a new Irish drama that
opened the Pagosa Springs Performing Arts Centers 2014-15 season.
Thingamajig Theatre Co. in Pagosa Springs has boldly chosen a new work about madness to
give the Colorado premiere after successful presentations in New York, London and Ireland.
Misterman continues a form of Irish storytelling about life in a small rural village. But it is not
a descendant of the famous 1888 W.B. Yeats poem, The Lake Isle of Innisfree. Instead, it
plays against the sentimental images of village life as they have appeared in poetry, prose and
lm.
Misterman is part of an Irish new-wave that includes the black comedies of Martin
McDonagh, Conor McPherson, and to a degree Marie Jones Stones in His Pockets. The
shadow side of village life is not hidden.
Featuring New York-based Equity Actor Craig MacArthur, seen last spring in Red, and the
recorded voice of Olivia Dukakis, Misterman, tells the story of a young Irishman struggling
with insanity. MacArthur plays Thomas Magill, whose father has died and whose aging mother
(Dukakis) needs tending. Like many villagers, she appears as a disembodied voice on a recording
device, one of many Magill keeps in his cluttered, claustrophobic quarters.
Using technology for dialogue is not a new trope. It brings to mind Samuel Becketts Krapps
Last Tape. And on the broader spectrum of works about insanity, including Dostoevskys
Notes from Underground, Misterman is convincing in its evocation of intense inner

Article Last Updated: Monday, October 13, 2014 8:15pm
Share
more Columnists
John Peel
Hurry: Enjoy these
eeting, disjointed
thoughts
Action Line
Trees on sculpture isle
have always been on
agenda
La Plata Health Watch
Outbreak turns Ebola into
a moving target
See all Columnists
Advertise with
Google
Get $75 Worth of Advertising
When You Spend $25 With
AdWords
Log in Sign up
10/20/14, 12:03 PM The Durango Herald 10/13/2014 | In Pagosa play, madness and obsession reign
Page 2 of 2 http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20141013/COLUMNISTS31/141019808
turmoil.
From a frenzied opening sequence where Magill rushes into his lair, the story unfolds. Magill
talks to himself, to his tapes, and when he ventures outside, actor MacArthurs character plays
both parts in numerous encounters.
Unpredictable noises abruptly intrude. Unexpected responses expose his pitiful efforts to
connect. And his ongoing, often lyrical efforts to praise his God counter everything he
experiences.
Unlike the Irish actor Cillian Murphy, who played Magill in Dublin, London and New York,
MacArthur does not appear in Jesus sandals and socks but is neatly dressed in pressed pants and
a buttoned-up plaid shirt, his hair neatly combed. All that unravels as the play races toward an
ending where apparent chaos rises to a startling conclusion.
The play, directed by Melissa Firlit, is performed without intermission. This is a rare opportunity
to see a splendid performance by an emerging American actor in a gripping new Irish play.
Misterman continues with seven more performances through Nov. 2.
For information call 970-731-7469 or check www.pagosacenter.org.
jreynolds@durangoherald.com. Judith Reynolds is a Durango writer, art historian and arts
journalist.
Read the next article in Culture Gulch
Tweet
1. Outbreak turns Ebola into a moving target
2. Hurry: Enjoy these eeting, disjointed thoughts
3. Trees on sculpture isle have always been on
agenda
4. Academy helps businesses, schools prepare for
disasters
5. When it comes to nutrition, choose plate over
pyramid
No Stories
Most Popular Columns
Most: Read Emailed