Respected playwright Caryl Churchill's "Cloud 9" is a tongue-in-cheek look at a British family unit throughout history. Oh, and there's incest. So tongues do not stay safely against their own cheeks, but instead roam wildly through a landscape of nephews and uncles, brothers and sisters, and mothers and their secret selves.
Act One is set in colonial Africa during the Victorian Era. In the second act, Churchill follows the branching family tree to 1970s London. The social forces of family and sexuality have evolved and stagnated during the 100-year interval. The ancestors make cameos in Act Two to inspire the characters as they fight to emerge from traditional roles.
Housed in a perfectly intimate venue, The Catalyst Theater's production of "Cloud 9" glided through the script's insights without stumbling into melodrama. Lured by the natural tones and un-amplified voices of the actors, the audience can imagine witnessing the dramatic family tiffs as if they're sneaking peeks around the missing fourth wall.
The clash between inner and outer self goes literal in "Cloud 9." Men play women, adults and even inanimate objects play children. For example, Betty (Jesse Terrill) is the Victorian wife every Englishmen wants, minus that little slip into adultery and lesbianism. She admits to being a man's construction of silly, piano-playing pleasures and so a male actor plays her flamboyantly. Also, it's amusing to see a middle-aged guy flitting about in a dress.
The cast was overall high quality. Some actors did blow their roles to ridiculous proportions, but that's to be expected when a 40-year-old man plays 4-year-old girl. And while the mix of balding and barrettes was delicious, the subtle brilliance thrived in the portrayal of Victorian patriarch, Clive, and gay gardener Edward both by Dan Via. He delivered lines with an unexpected, but perfect tone that tore laughs from the audience where no punch line was written.
The set is a functional series of swiveling dark walls covered in a grid-pattern resting against a cloudy backdrop. This creates an impression of a fragmented blueprint - a clever backdrop to throw the play's archetypal characters against. The set design (Giorgos Tsappas) enhances the idea of constructing and renovating social roles.
For students launched into college to "find themselves," the play deflates the allure of simply stepping into the shoes of pre-designed positions. The wife. The husband. The homosexual. These are repressive places the characters of "Cloud 9" try to wriggle out of, and maybe young people should too.
The show is a D.C. theater bargain. Running until Feb. 19, Cloud 9 is $15 for students, and the theater is a two-block walk from the Eastern Market Metro station.
