In March 2020, the Mint Theater had cast and cued up its production of Elizabeth Baker’s 1909 drama Chains, one of those little-known titles from a forgotten playwright that the company does so well. Then—oh, you know what happened. Cut to June 2022, and Chains is finally going up at Theatre Row, in an extremely fine production directed by Jenn Thompson (who helmed the Mint’s memorable Conflict and Women Without Men). But who could have predicted the play would be even more timely after a two-year delay?
The chains in Baker’s play are figurative, and they’re holding nearly everyone in their respective place—everyone except for Mr. Tennant (Peterson Townsend), who turns everything topsy-turvy when he announces that he’s going to “hook it.” As in, give notice at his very stable job and leave England to try his luck in Australia. And Charley Wilson (Jeremy Beck), the chap from whom Tennant has been renting a room, couldn’t be more envious. He’d give anything to chuck it all; he loathes working as a clerk. (Incidentally, Baker herself worked as a clerk before turning out more than a dozen plays.) But he’s married, to the lovely and dutiful Lily (Laakan McHardy). “Suppose we all stopped work when we didn’t like it? A pretty muddle the world would be in,” huffs Lily’s mom, Mrs. Massey (Amelia White). “Does anybody ever like work? The idea is absurd.” Her brother, Percy (Avery Whitted), is equally horrified at the idea of simply of quitting one’s job. “You don’t mean to suggest, I hope, that we ought to like our work, do you?” asks Percy incredulously. Still, Charley can’t get the idea out of his head: “We slog on day after day and when they cut our wages down we take it as meek as Moses. We’re not men, we’re machines.”
[Read Elysa Gardner’s ★★★★☆ review here.]
Yet what Tennant’s doing is precisely what’s been happening in the United States—and around the world—for the past year with the Great Resignation. The pandemic taught us that life is simply too short to spend our lives slogging away in thankless jobs. It’s even the theme of Beyoncé’s just-released No. 1 single “Break My Soul”; as she sings, “Now, I just fell in love/ And I just quit my job/ I’m gonna find new drive/ Damn, they work me so damn hard.” So there truly could not be a better time to dust off Baker’s job-dissatisfaction drama.
Though Tennant doesn’t solicit any opinions about his Down Under decision, he hears plenty of them. Landlady Lily puts on a good face but predicts doom: “I do hope you won’t be sorry for it. It would be so dreadful if you failed, after giving up such a good situation.” Boisterous neighbor Mr. Leslie (Brian Owen) minces no words: “Thrown up a safe job? Oh, he’s an ass, a stupid ass.” Only Lily’s sister, Maggie (Olivia Gilliatt)—who’s rather unenthusiastically engaged to the sensible and stable widower Mr. Foster (Ned Noyes)—gives Tennant any credit, praising “his pluck” and pooh-poohing any talk of risk. “He’s a man,” she shrugs. “It doesn’t matter.” Just as with so many of these turn-of-the-20th-century Mint plays, the female characters are wiser—and more powerful—than they first seem.
We also must discuss John McDermott’s splendid scenic design. It’s incredibly detailed—note the scroll displaying postcards, silhouettes, a lace fan, a dried flower, a pearl necklace, all presumably mementos from boarders like Tennant—but not too lavishly appointed; the Wilsons are clearly living paycheck-to-paycheck, and that wicker stool has seen better days. In the play’s second half, with the push of one wall and the pull of another and the subtraction and addition of a few bits of furniture, the set changes from the Wilsons’ home to the Masseys’. Thompson waits until the lights go down after intermission to make the switch, so we can appreciate the almost magical transformation. And if you didn’t notice, yes, that is chain-link wallpaper.
Chains opened June 23, 2022, at Theatre Row and runs through July 23. Tickets and information: minttheater.org
