“The Collection” is an early Pinter work. Yet it contains the hallmarks, if less subtley, of later Pinter masterpieces, such as “The Homecoming,” “No Man’s Land” and “Betrayal.” It’s almost a writing exercise, in which the various possibilities of infidelity — in fact and in fancy — are explored geometrically. A wife may, or may not, have been unfaithful with another, probably gay, man. He in turn may, or may not, have been unfaithful to his much older, presumed lover. Aglet’s production lets us be surprised by Pinter’s humor; his insinuating, persistent sexual innuendo; constant role reversal and outbursts of anger; near violence and fear of loss; and his view of women as the ultimate victors, the enigmatic characters in ultimate control. If this reading at Berkshire Theater Festival’s Unicorn Theater March 26 took a while to warm up and if at first director Thomas Gruenewald overdid Pinter’s famous pauses and silences, it was soon delivering Pinter’s carefully chosen words tersely yet smoothly. As Harry, the older man, Kale Brown has fine moments of hurling lines at his presumed lover or of trying to deflect James, the suspicious, maybe-cuckolded husband. Jim Beaudin makes James a man of potential menace as well as of possible sexual ambiguity. David Joseph’s Bill is quite good, all superficiality and surface, glib and obviously attracted to James. Stephanie Hedges as Stella the wife, has the most difficult role since there is little to it: few words, unfinished paragraphs, little to do. Yet she alone, like the stronger Pinter women to come, seems at the end to know the truth. Aglet shows us how fascinating even minor Pinter is. “The Collection” will be repeated at TriArts’ Bok Gallery April 2. Wine and snacks are served at 7 p.m., and the performance begins at 7:30. Tickets are $20 and can be reserved at 860 435-6928 or online at www.aglettheater.net.
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Greg Fricke and James Boehmer, co-owners of Peggy Mercury in Kent, recently launched their first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts.”
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Fricke and Boehmer are not there to stock their shelves with the same products customers find at standard makeup retailers. They’re there to help customers find what works for them. That usually means asking customers about themselves and learning about their beauty habits, skin, style and the way they like to present themselves. Fricke and Boehmer believe it’s their job to help customers bring out the qualities that suit them and determine what works best for their look.
So much of the Peggy Mercury world is about emboldening people to become more creative, and possibly bolder, versions of themselves. Some of this comes through the store’s creative collaborations with artists, designers and stylists.
It’s part of an ethos that encourages them and their friends to use the shop as a kind of laboratory, trying out new creative experiments without knowing how they might turn out. Whether in fashion, painting, fiber arts or photography, the projects almost always turn out marvelously.
A line of sterling silver charms they sell started as a small project by their friend Nolan Percival. In the beginning, the pieces were for close friends and loved ones. But Boehmer and Fricke encouraged Percival to get a little more serious about the project and create a whole line for the store. Today, it’s one of their top-selling collections.
Classic styles, bold colors, and creative concerts make up the “Imaginary Concerts” line at Peggy Mercury.Provided
“Imaginary Concerts” has the duo taking their own advice.
The project started as a way for Boehmer to connect with his mother, who had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease. Taking old concert shirts from his own collection, Boehmer and his mother began cutting out the graphics with the idea that they would make a quilt together. Unfortunately, she died before they could complete the project in 2025. The pieces, which were ready for production, were put on the back burner as Boehmer and Fricke dealt with their loss and the whirlwind of projects that never seemed to cease at Peggy Mercury.
But the harsh winter of 2026 presented an opportunity to take some time and focus on themselves. Part of that meant revisiting and redefining the concert T-shirt project. This time, instead of looking to the warmth and comfort of a quilt, they turned to another passion — fashion.
Taking a page from their own book, they wanted to create something that felt comfortable to them. They took two disparate loves — one rooted in simple preppy style, with clean lines and classic silhouettes, and the other in the nitty gritty worlds of punk rock and pop — and blended them together to create something entirely new. Pulling from the staples of vintage Brooks Brothers and Charvet collections, they applied the graphic elements with bold stitching reminiscent of punk jackets of the ‘70s and ‘80s, but with a much more sophisticated air.
But the remixing isn’t just the pairing of prep and punk. The pieces are not canon. They take liberties with the realities of concert tours, combining one band’s dates with another band’s logos, mixing them all up until the reality is lost and imagination is the only truth.
Shirts from Peggy Mercury’s first fashion line, “Imaginary Concerts,” hang on display.Provided
Adding to the mix is an element of perpetual creativity. Art can be messy, both figuratively and literally, and many of Fricke and Boehmer’s artist friends carry evidence of their work on them at all times. As a nod to these tireless creatives, the duo added haphazard splashes of bright color, giving the line an even more distinctive feel.
For them, “Imaginary Concerts” passes the “Peggy Test.” The mythical Peggy Mercury is a fictional figurehead for the company, a character who thrives on creativity and change. The name, much like the clothing line, is a mixture of interests: Mercury is a planet, a deity and an elusive, transformative element, while Peggy is the wonderfully stylish and boundary-pushing Peggy Guggenheim.
Everything Fricke and Boehmer put in their store has to pass this test: Would Peggy Mercury approve? For their first collection, the answer is a resounding yes.
Peggy Mercury is at 9 Maple St., Unit 2, Kent.
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