Judging by the number of dramatic works concerning the subject, it sometimes seems like every playwright has been in a support group at one time or another. It’s not hard to see why the setting provides thematic inspiration, what with the very different personalities and deeply personal travails on display. Unfortunately, what may seem fascinating if you’re one of the participants doesn’t always translate into compelling theater, as Emma Sheanshang’s The Fears vividly illustrates.
This play marking the theatrical producing debut of filmmaker Steven Soderbergh (the director, Dan Algrant, has acted in several of his projects) is set in a Buddhist center in New York City where seven members of a group dubbed the “Fearless Warriors” gather weekly to meditate and try to work through severe turmoil from their past. The city turns out to be a less than hospitable place for such a gathering, as hilariously evidenced by the loud sounds heard through the open window, ranging from profanity-laden arguments to deafening construction noise, that would make even the Dalai Lama scream in exasperation (kudos to sound designer Jane Shaw).
Some mild tensions arise from the arrival of the newest member, the history-obsessed Thea (Kerry Bishe, AMC’s Halt and Catch Fire), who thinks the world would be a better place if it weren’t for “a few complete assholes” like Alexander…as in, Alexander the Great. Her participation becomes even more fraught when it’s revealed that she’s the romantic partner of one of the other members, Mark (Carl Hendrick Louis), which is against the group’s rules.
[Read David Finkle’s ★★★☆☆ review here.]
The members don’t actually discuss the traumatic events that have brought them there, although many seem to be aware of them anyway. This reticence doesn’t work in the play’s favor, since the dialogue mostly consists of the sort of small talk that people would engage in while helping themselves to coffee and donuts, at least if it were a 12-step meeting. Despite the Buddhist trappings, which include the ritual striking of a bowl prior to meditations, the interactions aren’t always of the calm, Zen-like variety.
“You know what? Why don’t you take this pen and fucking stab me with it?” one of the members angrily suggests to another during one heated exchange.
The playwright doesn’t seem to know what she’s going for with this tonally muddled effort that feels far longer than its intermissionless 95 minutes. At times, The Fears veers into farce, as with the manic pillow fight that breaks out at one point. Other times, it seems to be striving for dark humor, with the goth-like Katie (Jess Gabor) revealed to be belonging to a cult known as “Children of Death” and the sweet Rosa (Natalie Woolams-Torres) suddenly finding out that she has 43 siblings thanks to her overly indiscriminate sperm-donor father and that they’ve started a Facebook group called “Children of Carlos.”
Mostly, though, the play is simply dull, its effect not enhanced by the low-key delivery by some of the performers that makes it sometimes unintelligible. One notable exception is Mehran Khaghani, whose rambunctious Fiz provides much-needed laughs. A professional stand-up comedian making his first stage appearance in sixteen years, Khaghani displays the sort of crack comic timing and delivery that succeeds in bringing the play to sporadic life.
Not that the rest of the ensemble, which also includes such theatrical veterans as Maddie Corman (Next Fall) and Robyn Peterson (Talk Radio), are lacking. It’s more that their efforts are hamstrung by the banal dialogue and thinly drawn characterizations that make the evening uninvolving.
There are some amusing moments, to be sure, such as Mark revealing that he’s decided to practice “non-aggressive biking.” But ultimately The Fears seem afraid to commit to either making satirical fun of its characters or fully exploring the psychological damage afflicting them. It’s a play that could have used a bit more mindfulness.
