The mythic notion of babies being stolen by fairies is horrifying—and, indeed, morally deplorable—but on another level, it is also awesome. The extent to which you appreciate this may affect your enjoyment of Caryl Churchill's "Skriker," produced by GreyZelda Theatre.
Fairies, like angels, have suffered from centuries of Disney-style sanitization that has reduced them to being creatures of sweetness and cuteness, but in the words of modern mythmaker Neil Gaiman, "giggling, dangerous, bloody psychotic menace...is more like it". Rebecca Zellar's nightmarish staging, which makes good use of the intimate Angel Island space, is true to that vision and envelops the audience in it.
One of the truly great playwrights of the last half-century, Churchill has always expertly blended the mythical and the mundane; here, the titular Skriker (Lisa Wilson) is a living metaphor for death, madness and yearning. The play concerns the torments she inflicts upon two young women, Josie (Kathryn Daniels) and Lily (Kelly Yacono) and their infant children. Wilson plays the Skriker (when she is not taking on a variety of disguises) much like Linda Blair playing Robin Goodfellow by way of Gollum. The results are—unsettling.
This is a dense work, not so easy to comprehended at times, particularly do to the Skriker's bizarre but fun language patterns, in which the last word of a familiar phrase becomes the first of a new one (e.g. "come to the window cleaner"). It is probably best read as well as seen, but seen it should be for its haunting, well realized atmosphere.
It's a satisfying meal for those who like their dark fantasy served extra dark.
Reviewed by Centerstage!
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