Shocking, outrageous, humorous, sarcastic and always powerful, Guillermo Gomez-Pena and Roberto Sifuentes presented "Dangerous Border Game" to Dartmouth Saturday night at the Moore Theater.
Exploring issues of immigration, race relations, bilingualism and ethnic identity, Gomez-Pena and Sifuentes tossed aside all principles of conventional theater and staged a drama uniquely original and self-conceived.
However, their disturbing portrayals of emigres in America were not distant or far-fetched. Though most of their acts were ironic, but the element of honesty was never missing.
The images depicted in the performance were sarcastic and a bit unrealistic, but the message which Gomez-Pena and Sifuentes conveyed did not lack any clarity of content. All the acts were highly emotionally charged, and the adage "actions speak louder than words" was most appropriate for them.
Some of their acts included bizzare simulations of night club acts, a hypnosis therapy session, a television commerical about the effects of NAFTA and a parody of how foreigners may interpret Mexican culture: a French anthropologist lecturing on his trip to Mexico.
So far, versions of "Dangerous Border Game" have been performed nationwide.
It was ironic to see a performance such as Gomez-Pena's at Dartmouth, but it was certainly eye-opening to witness the bounds of drama and theater being stretched to their maximum.
