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A CurtainUp Review
Tender Napalm
The audience sits lengthwise across the rectangular black box theater, two rows abreast on either side, as if in a miniature boxing ring. The pugilists, “Man” (Blake Ellis) and “Woman” (Amelia Workman) enter and immediately launch into warm-up exercises. This is the battle royale of the sexes, a fight to the death, replete with below-the-belt punches. The blows are physical and verbal, but take place only in the inner worlds of the opponents, where the pain inflicted, the dredged-up grudges, and the occasional demonstrations of love are limited only by two imaginations in overdrive. Our combatants, pretending to be stranded together on a desert island (save for some simian minions), invent elaborate mythologies about themselves as they trace the history of their relationship. Through a series of metaphorical vignettes, Man and Woman articulate, in ghastly detail, the methods by which they might, for instance, torture and disembowel each other, given the chance. Movement Director Yasmine Lee has done a wonderful job with both the obviously athletic actors; as they conduct their faux combat, they gracefully inhabit a space that is only about twenty feet long and eight wide. Alas, it’s not enough to save the monotonous script. Mr. Ridley who is, among other things, a children’s book author, sure can write. His words are often quite poetic. Unfortunately, Tender Napalm is a rarely moving yet overlong one-trick pony. In the end, the unrelenting and often hammy salvos of Man and Woman become tedious and even noisome. Editor's Note: To read our London critic Sebastian King's more enhusiastic review when Tender Napalm ran in his city go here
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