After a winter of unmitigated farce at Center Theater ("Tom Thumb," "The Beautiful People Die Twice"), the fun is finally over. In contrast to the thaw and blossom of Spring term, the dark, harrowing vision of Harold Pinter, English master of theatrical brutality, infects our drama department by way of "Mountain Language and other works."
At the throb of an unseen helicopter, one of the "other works" ushers in an evening of unrelenting gloom and despair."Party Time" charts the idle hours of several nameless, faceless executives and their wives against the backdrop of a vaguely sketched civil war. In the lead is Andrew Macdowell '95, whose wonderfully unctuous manner is interrupted only by a periodic grimace. The other characters make valiant, if insincere, efforts to entertain each other in a smoothly shifting dialogue of coercion, lies and deceit.
The next two performances are sadly less deserving of mention. Both simplistic, unexplained, and utterly evanescent whimpers of anguish, "Mountain Language" and "The New World Order" are overshadowed by the enormous cast and plot sophistication of "Party Time." Zachary Oberzan '96 and Pavol Liska '95 produce strong showings, but nevertheless some parts of the two works fall a bit flat, failing to sustain the profound degree of uneasiness Pinter demands.
But "Mountain Language" et al. is never boring: a single bone-chilling shriek from Toshiko Uchida '93 inspires greater terror than all the efforts of the other actors combined. Most importantly, no Dartmouth student can ignore the striking parallels in Pinter's works to our own social situation here on campus. The exclusive cabal of "Party Time," with its endemic dipsomania and final initiation ceremony, cannot but be regarded as a reflection of our beloved fraternity system. As a study in corporate banality, the play should expose those among us bound for business recruitment to the greatest personal discomfort. The overriding onstage military presence in "Mountain Language" and "The New World Order" is a stark reminder of Dartmouth's decision to retain the Reserve Officers' Training Corps program.
Even if we find the plays a bit tedious, glum, and even mediocre, their immediate pertinence to the student body cannot be denied. Dark, depressing and thought-provoking, "Mountain Language and other works" are a poor choice for spring but an excellent one for Dartmouth.
"Mountain Language and Other Plays by Harold Pinter" runs from May 5 to May 7 and from May 11 to May 14. Each show is at 8 p.m. in Center Theater; running time is approximately one hour. Student tickets cost $2.
