OFF-BROADWAY REVIEW
IN CONFLICT
Reviewed by David Sanchez
Published 2008-10-01
With a bevy of theatrical productions based on the Iraq War having opened and closed since the war started, theater has proven itself to be a capable medium and space for this discussion. Some productions have succeeded, others failed, but all have been conceived with the purpose of giving us a broader perspective beyond what the popular media has been reporting.
"In Conflict" chronicles through monologue the lives of sixteen American Veterans from the Iraq War. They vary in age from mid-twenties to early fifties, but this is a story that is more a tribute to the younger soldiers. These 'characters' come directly from real life as interviewed by Yvonne Latty in her book of the same title. After being published, Temple University decided to adapt this into a play.
The production owes a good deal to what some might consider a landmark journalistic theater piece, "The Laramie Project". There is sporadic video work showing a few clips of news reports, pictures, interviews with Latty, and most importantly, to give us a brief biography on each character present on stage. The media is used intelligently and only when it is needed, keeping the focus on the performances and the stories. Where "The Laramie Project" turned the interviewers into characters for the play, this show is a direct conversation with the audience. This is an intimate show in which the creators wanted us to have a first hand encounter with these character's and their stories.
*Minor Spoiler* One simple and effective directorial choice made by director Douglas C. Wager was during one of the early monologues in which the male speaker tells us his story while making tea. The whole time, there has been a plate of cookies sitting on his table. About half way through the monologue, he asks - nay, insists - that the audience members pass the plate around, effectively shattering the fourth wall and turning us from objective viewers into witnesses with a personal investment in these people's lives. It's one of the more brilliant moments of the night that clinched the show for me.
This show isn't all theatrical tricks and devices. The real shining force of this production are the actors. These eleven men and women, some of whom play a number of roles, have created compelling representations for the audience to be repulsed by, to sympathize with, to understand, and to disagree with. Each member of the ensemble comes directly from the Temple University production who also won the Fringe First award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The non-fictional element of these characters gives the play plausibility and a multitude of perspectives. To Latty's credit, whom despite her own and the play's overwhelmingly anti-War sentiments, allows these stories to be told, for the most part, unvarnished.
Also, there's plenty of that much needed humor in all of their stories that highlights their humanity. What may keep some theater goers away is the format of the play and the heavy subject matter. At times, the play feels like it runs a little long, especially in the second act. From monologue to monologue, it can get a little tiresome after a point, which may say more about me as an audience member than the play itself. Still, the play may have benefited from running one act and 90 minutes long, what seems to be a standard for many new plays.
With that said, it's a shame that theater pieces, especially about war, are only able to reach a certain amount of people in a certain demographic. Perhaps more shameful is that there are so few of us willing to listen. This play should be seen not only for its message but also for its artistic merits. It shows us why the theater can be a more effective, immediate, and powerful medium in expressing a country's discontents and telling the individual's story from miles and months away.
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