Theater Review: Fascism and Farce Collide in Upstream Theater’s PICTURES FROM A REVOLUTION

Upstream Theater’s 20th season continues with an emotionally driven presentation of Pictures From a Revolution. Staged for the first time in the United States, the play could not be timelier.

Written by Italian Tino Caspanello, translated by Haun Saussy, and directed by Philip Boehm, the play centers on three revolutionaries, each given a number in lieu of a name, whose fight against tyranny is upended by the arrival of a mysterious woman.

Hunkered down inside a soccer stadium, the revolutionaries live a menial existence. A search for food goes awry when they accidentally wrangle a mysterious woman and bring her into their camp.

Enigmatic in nature, the woman has a bag filled with supplies and food that the rebels need. Despite her willingness to help them, something is not quite right about the new guest.

Upon arrival, she tussles with 584, the senior rebel. Their tense exchange of words leads to intense drama as the two form a complex relationship.

Her relationship with 892, the group leader, is more straightforward and to the point. Knowing how to push all the right buttons, she wears him down, leading to a fateful confrontation.

The production reaches an apex when the woman’s true intentions are made known. Eventually manipulating the youthful 137, her machinations play out with dire consequences.

Probing, and eventually piercing, their cloistered world, the woman’s upheaval tests the very foundation of their uprising, leading each member to explore their belief system.

A sociological exploration of insurrection with flourishes of absurdity and dark comedy, Pictures From a Revolution surveys themes of comradery, class, power, loss, isolation, and gender politics. While there is nothing funny about fascism, this well-acted and poignant production shines a cynical light on the razor-thin line between freedom fighting and the folly of trying to change the system.

Art meets autonomy as famous paintings by Dali, Titian, Rembrandt, Matisse, Degas, and others frame the leitmotifs of various scenes. Used as tools to inject humor or emphasize the fracases onstage, these artworks are pivotal for setting the mood and separating scenes.

Dance and motion are also vital components. Used to convey time and movement, Cecil Slaughter’s choreography surrounds the spectacle unfurling onstage.

Harnessing every ounce of talent from its small cast, Pictures From a Revolution is driven by Lizi Watt’s take-no-prisoners cagey woman. Filling her character with guile and cruelty, she is a delightful antagonist. Her performance is spiced with angry glances and a smoldering ferocity that leads to the undoing of the rebels.

Isaiah DiLorenzo brings charisma to the head honcho’s lead separatist, 892. His sterling performance begins with a quiet confidence that gradually unwinds as his character becomes more vulnerable and pliable.

Rounding out the ensemble are J. Samuel Davis and Andre Eslamian as the oldest and youngest camp members. Davis’ performance finds him changing moods seamlessly, allowing his stage persona to alternate between joviality and brutality.

Eslamian shines as the naïve 137. His sublime performance serves as the emotional heart of the play.

Running 90 minutes without an intermission, Pictures From a Revolution is an intense emotional rollercoaster that delves into the notion of freedom and how people work to keep it and take it away.

But perhaps the best attribute of the play is how the sum of its parts seamlessly come together. This thought-provoking work features a wonderful troupe that gives audiences a lingering contemplation that lasts long after the lights go dark.

Pictures From a Revolution plays at The Marcelle, located at 3310 Samuel Shepard Drive, through February 9.

For tickets visit https://www.metrotix.com/events/detail/pictures-from-a-revolution

For more information on the Upstream Theater Company visit: https://www.upstreamtheater.org/