In the tradition of Ray Bradbury, Theodore Sturgeon and Harlan Ellison, One Thousand Blinks uses a taut short-story format to deliver lurid sci-fi fun while also holding a cautionary mirror to contemporary society. Smartly, playwright Nick Starr sets his parable not in an imagined future dystopia, but in a world very much like our own, populated with recognizable types.
Twenty-something Morgan, played by Mark Cajigao, has a sharp mind and two college degrees. But the job market isn’t exactly crying out for intellectuals. Morgan takes it personally, repeatedly berating himself for “never finishing anything.” When a job teaching English overseas opens up, Morgan is eager to take it — even though it means being apart from his fiancée, Jenny, played by Estelle Bajou. Not an atypical scenario so far, but there are unforeseen complications. Jenny sometimes answers the phone in a dream state, haunted by visions of violent dogs. Miles away, Morgan learns from the soullessly efficient Dr. Luk, played by Rachel Cornish, that due to a mysterious incident class will have to be postponed. Not to worry, though. There’s plenty of work to be done as Dr. Luk needs a top-secret medical textbook translated.
Although Morgan speaks not a word of the local language he is eager to prove himself. The book indicates that diabolical experiments are being conducted on human subjects. But with the company’s highly controlled working conditions and demand for productivity, it soon appears the Morgan himself may be an unwitting guinea pig. Back in the U.S., Jenny is visited by her ex-boyfriend Bram, played by Drew Hirshfield. Now a noted scientist, Bram seems to have more than just a sexual interest in the canine alter ego that emerges when Jenny sleeps. Like modern-day Dr. Frankensteins, Bram and Dr. Luk discover that trifling with nature can have unintended — and horrifying — consequences.
Cajigao adroitly embodies Morgan’s transformation from a rudderless youth to a technological John Henry, testing his human limitations against the power of machines. He proves an apt foil for Cornish, who shades her portrayal of the robotically cheery Dr. Luk with a subtext of vulnerability. As the show’s other odd couple, Bajou’s innocent lycanthrope and Hirshfield’s hubristic nerd provide a colorful counterpoint. The play’s parallel worlds are given added visual clarity by Al Roundtree’s set and lighting design, and Jesse-Raye Court’s character-appropriate costumes.
Director Malinda Sorci wisely keeps the quartet of actors grounded in authentic emotion, thereby making the macabre turns of plot in One Thousand Blinks seem as inevitable as they are disturbing.
One Thousand Blinks; Written by Nick Starr; Directed by Malinda Sorci; 59E59 Theaters; 59 East 59th Street; 59e59.org
