[NEohioPAL] Review of "Two" at none too fragile

[Bob Abelman]

none too fragile’s ‘Two’ a master class in heartbreak



Bob Abelman

Cleveland Jewish News, The News Herald, The Morning Journal

  

Pubs are great places to set a play. 



The instantaneous comradery among strangers and the social lubrication of alcohol creates ample opportunity for dialogue.  The confessionary function of the barkeep produces revealing self-disclosure.  And an assortment of down-on-their-luck denizens can generate plenty of personal tragedy.



It could even be argued that one of the most monumentally depressing and theatrically engaging places in all of theater is Harry Hope’s Saloon, where Eugene O’Neill’s “The Iceman Cometh” takes place.  “It’s the No Chance Saloon,” one character says of this lower Manhattan establishment on the Hudson River waterfront. “It’s Bedrock Bar, the End of the Line Café… the last harbor. No one here has to worry about where they’re going next, because there is no farther they can go.”



The Northern English pub at the heart of Jim Cartwright's “Two,” currently on stage at none too fragile theater, is built for introspection and not degradation.  The playwright’s work has been compared to that of Samuel Beckett’s, whose plays tend to be stark, deeply pessimistic reflections about human nature and the human condition, but moderated by a wicked sense of humor.  “Two” is certainly that. 



For more of this review, go to:  www.clevelandjewishnews.com/columnists/bob_abelman/
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