Awesome, Really

A bare stage, tables, chairs, a file cabinet, three wastebaskets and four disciplined actors create an exciting and dynamic theater experience at Shakespeare & Company in Lenox, MA. The 1914 voyage of the ship “Endurance” commanded by Sir Ernest Shackleton, from which the play takes its title, is ingeniously woven into the story of four men employed by an insurance company in present-day Hartford. Presented by the visiting Split Knuckle Theatre, the play evolved outside the normal creative process. There is no formal playwright and no director. The four actors, with input from a writer, a musician, designers and a stage manager, improvise to explore contemporary social issues. The work is refined and rehearsed until it develops a theatrical form. The issue in “Endurance” is the devastating effect of the economic crisis that has blanketed the country these last several years. The insurance claim adjusters and their boss, Walter Spivey, who has recently been promoted to manager, are witness to administrative firings and subjected to excessive work demands with salary and benefit reductions. Yearning to be a strong leader, Spivey searches the library for business management handbooks. In a very funny riff mocking leadership guides and management jargon, Spivey rejects the modern mumbo jumbo and discovers Shackleton’s diary. The details of how Shackleton saved the lives of his 27-man crew while spending almost two years on the ice floes and bergs of Antarctica after their ship had been destroyed becomes the model for Spivey to cling to in a desperate attempt to save his division. The two plot lines evolve separately at first as Spivey finds inspiration in the commander’s words. The events from 1914 and the 21st century mirror each other until both eras are on stage at the same moment. The sailors face their hardships with the knowledge that this day may be their last, while the insurance agents are concerned about surviving the economic squeeze and aiding aged parents. But inspired by Shackleton and Spivey, the ship’s crew and the adjusters move ahead. The staging and acting of the play is as stimulating as the provocative plot line. The four actors (Jason Bohon, Andrew Grusetskie, Michael F. Toomey and Greg Webster) play multiple roles morphing into other characters with the addition of a hat or a scarf as they remain in their professionally-correct business suits and ties. Their facial expressions and vocal qualities transform them instantaneously giving life to different personalities. The movement of the set pieces to form offices, restaurants, buses, the ship and ice floes is choreographed as are the workaday chores so that there is no wasted movement. This is a production to behold with awe!“Endurance” runs through July 15. For reservations call 413-637-3353 or visit www.shakespeare.org.