The
Polish Play
Devised and Directed by Henry Wishcamper
Walker Space
46 Walker St.
212-868-4444
Review
by Elissa Hunter
This
ain’t your momma’s Shakespeare. Henry Wishcamper’s The Polish Play takes its cues not only
from Macbeth
but also from Alfred Jarry’s retelling, Ubu
Roi. The plot, which centers on a greedy tyrant
who murders his way to the crown, will be familiar to
anyone who took high school English, while the names
and setting come specifically from Jarry’s rendition:
out with Scotland and the Macbeths, in with Poland and
the Ubus. Nixing the doom and gloom of its predecessors,
this new version is funny and oh-so-naughty. Fart jokes
and references to infected male organs run rampant,
all told with a tongue-in-cheek humor by a talented
cast.
Led
by Avenue Q’s Jordan Gelber as Pere Ubu, the cast hits
the ground running and doesn’t let up. Most of the players
have multiple roles and are joined on stage by marionettes.
Everyone, including the Foley artist sitting at a sound
effects table straight out of “Bill Nye the Science
Guy,” puts such enthusiasm into what they do that it
becomes impossible not to be drawn into the story.
As
wonderful as the cast is, the set design and fight choreography
are what really sets The
Polish Play over the edge. Takeshi Kata’s set design
is a true utilization of the small performance space.
Every piece undergoes multiple transformations at the
drop of a hat. The king’s throne becomes the three witches’
bubbling cauldrons, a table becomes a battlefield, and
little nooks and crannies seem to pop out of nowhere.
Qui Nguyen’s climactic fight scenes are simultaneously
breathtaking and hilarious. Crotch kicks abound, and
in the final fight scene, the actors are propelled onto
the stage props to create a dance-fight straight out
of “The Matrix.” For anyone who can enjoy the subtle
nuance of a well-placed wet willy on the battlefield,
The Polish Play
is just what the doctor — or, in this case, the
greedy, murderous Polish king — ordered.