Second Thought Theater’s “Hangover” skips the details of the crime in favor of pure emotion

What if the victim of a violent crime decided the fate of the perpetrator? This is the mysterious premise of British playwright Debbie Tucker Green hang upnow receiving sensitive products on Theater “Second Thought”. under the guidance of Sasha Maya Ada.

The audience will never learn the details of the criminal’s terrible act and why he was given the punishment. Instead, the play is based on the evolution of the relationship between three people who are essentially trapped in what looks like an ordinary office break room. Although the characters never say their names, the script calls them One, Two, and Three.

Withholding so much information is a device that would be more annoying if Tucker Green didn’t hear how stressed people talk, how they behave. At a minimum, hang up it is a mannered, stylized exercise in dynamic acting and the ways in which people in modern society deal with impossible situations.

Subtle, shifting ambient noise design by Crescent R. Hayes helps create an oppressive atmosphere.

Victim, three (Denise Lee), always involves a black actress. One (Shannon J. McGrann), the warden who watches the proceedings, is usually played by a woman, but can be of any race. Her subordinate Two (Kristen Lazarczyk) can be of any race or gender. In Second Thought they are both white women.

But if Tucker Green, who is black, intends to make a statement about race, she is extremely nuanced about it. One and Two try to dance around Three’s raw feelings, genuinely empathizing with her situation. McGrann and Lazarczyk portray their characters as less than caring as ever, One Too Much. This leads to some rare moments of humor in the play.

At the same time, these officials are handcuffed by rules about what they are allowed to say or do while Three ponders his monumental choice. All that is clear is that the criminal justice system has been handed over to, or at least has become, a faceless bureaucracy.

At first, Lee barely speaks in a whisper. It creates a baseline for the Three’s anger and sadness to accumulate. Lee’s voice rises, her hands shake more and more as she talks about some of the implications for the Three family, partly due to the way the criminal looked at them. She does One, Two, and you feel for her.

The presentation of the letter from the criminal is delayed hang up. Will Three read it before or even after announcing her decision? During last Monday’s performance, the tension in the room seemed about to explode. But don’t expect relief.

Details

Through Nov. 2 at Bryant Hall, 3636 Turtle Creek Blvd. 27 USD. secondthoughttheatre.com.