Rhinoceros @ Lakeside Community Theatre
—Hannah Kneen
A crash of rhinoceroses (yes, that is the correct plural) breaks across the stage of Lakeside Community Theatre in Eugène Ionesco’s Rhinoceros. This production, directed by Dale Moon, celebrates the strange in joyful fashion. With philosophical argument, gloriously fallacious logic, and a wonderful juxtaposition of the normal and the absurd, this play creates a world that makes us question our own. This is not altogether unexpected in an Ionesco play, the writer being famous for his early contributions to the Theatre of the Absurd, defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary as “theater that seeks to represent the absurdity of human existence in a meaningless universe by bizarre or fantastic means.” Putting rhinos onstage with no immediate explanation is certainly bizarre, and this play uses that to brilliant—and thought-provoking—effect.
The director aptly quotes Ionesco in the playbill, hinting at the play’s themes by noting that “The supreme trick of mass insanity is that it persuades you that the only abnormal person is the one who refuses to join in the madness of others, the one who tries vainly to resist. We will never understand totalitarianism if we do not understand that people rarely have the strength to be uncommon.”
The quote hits the nail on the head when it comes to the major issue of the play. At some point, we must ask ourselves what is ‘normal?’ If ‘normal’ changes—if the people around us change dramatically—do we retain our own selves or do we adjust? What is more important: go-with-the-flow community or think-for-yourself individuality?
The play opens with a look into the lives and minds of the oft-drunk but ever personable Berenger, his intellectual friend Jean, and the patrons of the coffee shop where they meet. All seems quite normal in this town—until, of course, a rhinoceros inexplicably rampages through the square. As the play progresses, the world gets ever stranger as more and more people fall to the odd phenomena sweeping the town—until finally Berenger must decide whether or not he will join the herd or retain his individuality.
The wacky bunch of characters in this play are well-performed, from Jim Laney and Paul Niles’s charming characterizations of The Logician and The Old Gentleman, to Jason Diaz Ortega’s unflappable Dudard. However, I was most impressed with the portrayal of the trickiest character in this production. Berenger, played by Patrick Britton, was consistently compelling and believable throughout this emotional roller-coaster ride of a show. He clearly had a solid grasp on his character, showed Berenger’s flaws and finer points, and made him undeniably human and recognizable even in an increasingly unrecognizable world. Some issues with lines for a few of the actors hampered the pacing and flow of the production, but I considered it a problem worth looking past in order to enjoy an otherwise entertaining and thoughtful show.
There were some delightful instances of actors breaking the fourth wall; those moments worked well in the small space and encouraged a feeling of community and closeness that connected with the themes of the play: a character took a moment to sit with the audience; a rhinoceros handed out a business card; the actors playfully refused to go offstage for intermission—because “we’re ACTING,” you know. It’s easy to enjoy this lively theater community, and the show is well worth seeing—if for no other reason than to find out what might happen if this Rhinoceros has a chance to stampede through your mind for a time.
WHEN: April 21-May 6
WHERE: Lakeside Community Theatre, 6303 Main Street, The Colony
WEB: lctthecolony.com
