by Barbara Waldinger
“This is a play about trauma in all its forms. It’s about those moments in life when nothing that we think we know feels real any longer—nothing that we depended on, nothing that we knew in our hearts to be true.” These are the words of Lee Blessing describing his play, A BODY OF WATER, to Nan McNamara in a February 2020 interview as she prepared to direct the piece for the Actors Co-op in Hollywood. Unfortunately, the production was cut short by the arrival of the Covid pandemic.
Blessing conceived the play as he was suffering from the “post-trauma effects” of a recent divorce after a long marriage. But he found that it was not that easy for him to write it to his satisfaction. From its first production in 2005, he continued to revise it (nearly 10 times) until 2018, when he rewrote the ending for the last time. Anxious to see how it would work onstage, Blessing flew in from California to attend the opening of James Warwick’s fine production at Shakespeare & Company, which took place despite rain, a tornado watch, and a last-minute change of venue from outdoors to indoors.
Merriam-Webster’s definition of trauma is: “a disordered psychic or behavioral state resulting from severe mental or emotional stress or physical injury.” As A BODY OF WATER opens, we meet two characters in their 50s—Avis (Bella Merlin) and Moss (Kevin O’Rourke), who find themselves in a lovely summer house, surrounded by water, but have no idea who or where they are or how they got there. Trying without success to summon up memories of their past, they come up with all sorts of possibilities, some of them so outlandish that the audience can’t help but laugh (“They might have dropped us off with . . .one of those ropes they dangle from helicopters”). Blessing points out that there is a lot of humor in his play. Though Avis and Moss don’t even know if they are strangers to one another or a married couple, the guessing games keep them busy at first as they become more comfortable with one another, emotionally and physically. But once a new character is introduced at the end of the first scene, their stress level intensifies immeasurably.
Over the course of three days, a young, athletic woman named Wren (understudy Lydia Isabel Duff replaced Caroline Calkins on the day this reviewer attended) visits Avis and Moss, who understandably believe that she will explain everything. However, she often answers their questions with questions, and when she does offer explanations they change instantly. These so-called answers become more and more traumatic for them, as if the situation in which they find themselves were not traumatic enough. Wren may be their daughter, their caretaker trying to shock them into remembering something, or even their defense attorney working to get them acquitted for a grizzly crime they may have committed—or not. Wren often seems cruel, frightening, bent on torturing them emotionally, leading Avis to ask: “Are we in hell?” Have we entered Sartre territory? Are there shades of Ionesco here, reminiscent of Warwick’s direction of THE CHAIRS involving two older people surrounded by a body of water?
Warwick has separated the play into two acts containing three scenes in the first act (the first day), and two scenes in the second act (day 2 and 3). Staged in The Roman Garden Theatre, each scene ends with the repetition of upbeat, waltz-like music designed by Caroline Eng, suggesting the cyclical nature of the play. The set (by Patrick Brennan) is an outdoor patio with couches, a table, chairs, and a clever mock-up of a barbecue, complete with utensils for the use of the grill. Though the characters have no idea whose clothes they are wearing, somehow designer Jaysen Engel has chosen costumes that fit them perfectly. Is that another inexplicable statement about this mysterious world?
Warwick’s staging is always fluid and organic and his successful collaboration with actors is a hallmark of his work. In an interview with the Eagle, the director shares his approach to this play: “We have to play every second. We have to play it for real.” These characters are not cartoons—they are like us, trying to make sense of whatever has happened to them. As Avis Mecklenberg, Bella Merlin has enormous range, playing every note of her instrument, struggling to get a foothold in the ever-changing landscape surrounding her. We sympathize with her as she moves from confusion to delight in her new clothes and this beautiful home, from exploring her relationship with an unknown man she grows to depend on, from allowing her motherly instincts to take over and immediately regretting the pain and fear she suffers because of them, bouncing from humor to hysteria and starting it all again.
Kevin O’Rourke explains that as Moss Sibley, he needs to forget about the usual character biography constructed by most actors because in this case there is no past—only this moment. He and Merlin have to invent their own truth, their reality. His Moss can be funny, sexy, but prone to anger when he challenges the lies he has been told, when he sees how much Avis is hurting. He is not going to sit back and be forced to accept anything: he’s a man of action. But even he can fall apart when he realizes that he is unable to find the answers he seeks. Merlin and O’Rourke are so good together that it’s difficult to believe actors who may never have met before can create these connections in only a few weeks.
Lydia Isabel Duff offers us a cool, indifferent, and unsympathetic Wren, whose presence dims our hopes and darkens the atmosphere. After just a couple of rehearsals, Duff joins the cast on the second night of the run and with that chilling smile, leaves a strong impression.
Doomed to repeat the traumas that befall them, Avis and Moss turn on their sadistic visitor, substantiating the new ending. This play is a puzzle, says Blessing, but one that can never be solved. We are reminded of Groundhog Day, or of Alice descending the rabbit hole. It takes enormous courage for Moss and Avis to go on without anchors, without faith, with nothing to hold onto. Isn’t that what many of us are feeling now as we read the headlines?
A BODY OF WATER runs from June 21-July 21, 2024 at The Roman Garden Theatre at Shakespeare & Company, 70 Kemble Street, Lenox, MA. For tickets call 413-637-3353 or online at shakespeare.org.
Shakespeare & Company presents A BODY OF WATER: A Play in Three Days by Lee Blessing. Director: James Warwick. Cast: Caroline Calkins (Wren); Bella Merlin (Avis); Kevin O’Rourke (Moss). Set Designer: Patrick Brennan; Costume Designer: Jaysen Engel; Costume Design Assistant: Michelle Hathaway; Sound Designer: Caroline Eng. Production Stage Manager: Anthony Feola; Assistant Stage Manager: Lyra Abbott & Christine Zak.
The production runs 1 hour 50 minutes, including one intermission.