On the surface, “Radiant Vermin” , by Philip Ridley, is a dark comedy about a couple who find that their cruelty benefits them. It’s materialism versus morality. We can guess which wins. It’s a highly fantastical plot. But it’s also very realistic in that it is about how we make choices to ignore problems, walk by people prostate on the sidewalk and focus on gaining for ourselves rather than helping others. So it’s at once very farcical and very personal.
Ripple Effect Artists' production directed by Kimberly Loren Eaton at the American Theatre of Actors is a dark comedy in the best sense of the word. We meet a couple played by Matt Braddak and Mimi Bill who seem at once innocent, naïve and nice. And, of course, they are until they find out that each time they kill a homeless person their home becomes that more beautiful. They kill reluctantly at first and then with indifference. Much as the first time we see the Statue of Liberty, we marvel at it, but by the hundredth, we tire of it and take it for granted. They soon kill several at once and overcome the overwhelming compunction that they felt at first.
They provide a great performance as a comic couple, facing the audience, seeming serious and sincere, while still outright funny. The comedy comes from the fact that we are seeing such “nice” people do such horrific things, but these are not really killings, so they become comic. We aren’t seeing anyone’s life taken, but rather never lose the sense of watching a story, a parable where the only death is the death of our own humanity.
While this is an absurd play, it is so sincerely absurd in its science fiction world where homeless people are called “renovators” who exist precisely for these people to better their own circumstances. Subject matter often takes the day. And after the show, there was a talkback about homelessness. Yet, to me at least, this play is not so much about the homeless, who are faceless in this play. It is rather about our own inhumanity, our indifference, our focus on ourselves and possessions that leaves us soulless.
In something called “The Midnight Run,” people have traveled around New York City dropping off food to homeless people who, every night, return to the same spot, if not a home. They have no home, but yet return to the same harsh spot, as if continuity provides some sense of hope. This play shows us a couple who blithely commit homicide, but more as if in a fairy tale or a myth or a parable.
There would not be a more timely play in New York City at the moment and yet, this play is about us more than “the.” Ripple Effect says its goal is to move people from apathy to action and to cultivate empathy. This is a strong play that makes a strong statement. I though believe it’s about how we as a society have mortgaged our morality for possessions, electronics over empathy. Even more important, though, this production does a great job in entertaining, showing us what the absence of empathy looks like.
We see a stark stick box of a house projected in the background rather than a truly domestic set. In a play about possessions, this set is largely devoid of possessions .But that too may be a good choice. This is a great comic cast showing us how a warm façade can hide terrible actions. The result is a great play, an important point, and theater that is at once timely and timeless.
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