Blood Moon – Unpathed

Overview

Nicholas Kazan's Blood Moon is a naturalistic play reaching for the poetic level of a Greek tragedy. We're told it's based on a true story, but this is more poetic myth than documentary theatre. Like Neil LaBute's Medea Redux or Tom Holloway's Love me Tender, Kazan marries myth and domesticity to create an epic tragedy set in the suffocating confines of the everyday. Manya, a 19-year-old college student played by Victoria Beck, is shown around town by her uncle, Gregory (Fabrizio Omodei), who betrays her trust by leaving her alone with businessman Alan (Ted Crosby).

Newly formed theatre company Unpathed, led by director Christopher Stollery, has given the timeless topic of sexual violence strong cathartic form in this production at the TAP Gallery. Designer Tom Bannerman has created a sparse but functional set that doubles as Alan's high-security apartment where the inciting incident occurs and later as Manya's student apartment where the revenge takes place.

Bannerman has placed a large work by photographer Mauro Palmieri on the back wall of a woman standing naked with a sack over her head. Titled Undisclosed, the piece evokes both Guantanamo-style torture and the fragile beauty of Botticelli's Venus. It's a silent witness to the drama and stands as a symbol of the violation of innocence.

This artwork is the most mature element of the production. Kazan's text is generally overwritten and reveals plot points well before they're due. Revealing your plot early is fine if the writing is a poetic mediation on events, slowing down time to give the audience a moment for reflection, but Kazan's dialogue doesn't tell us anything particularly novel. Instead, it's a drawn-out build-up to something we saw coming 15 minutes ago.

Revenge is only satisfying to watch if there's genuine retribution. Despite Beck displaying genuine satisfaction in the final scene, Crosby playing Alan remains as he has been. Kazan has written little into the denouement that would allow Crosby to transform, and Stollery has directed the final moment with Crosby's back to the audience, denying us the chance to imagine even a glimmer of suffering or reckoning in his face.

Manya's revenge does not appear to touch Alan, leaving him in the same position of power he's been in from the start. I doubt that this was the desired effect of the piece. A welcome counter to his immobility is Beck's poised performance as Manya — she is clear and powerful.