THOM PAIN – Burbage Theater

Reviewed by Tony Annicone

Burbage Theatre’s first show of 2019 is “Thom Pain” (based on nothing) which is a one man show. The play was a finalist for the 2005 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, which was won by “Doubt” by John Patrick Shanley. “Thom Pain” was written by Will Eno in 2004 and even though this Thom Paine isn’t based on the real Thomas Paine who uttered “These are the times that try men’s souls” but this one can be trying too. The main character delivers a stream of consciousness existential monologue. He is like you, only much worse. This surreal and real one man show follows Thom Pain as he desperately, and hilariously, tries to save his own life, to save your life and does so in that order. Or to at least make life into something worth dying for. In his quest for salvation, he’ll stop at nothing  He tells the audience that he has suffered greatly in his lifetime. His stories are of various calamities including a young boy with a dog who died horribly, who is then stung severely by bees and when the boy grew up his experience with a woman. It is about love, pain and loss with the performer interacting with the audience and breaking the fourth wall with his monologues and soliloquies. Director Vince Petronio blocks the show marvelously using the whole playing area and he obtains a phenomenal performance from his leading man.

Jeff Church commands the stage in this role, while running the gamut of emotions. He makes the scripted monologue seem spontaneous, keeping the interest of the audience all night long. He is mesmerizing in this show. At first the question posed is “What is the definition of fear?” and the character tells us his fears and stories about a small boy and his dog, the boy getting stung by bees and then switches in an instant to talking about a woman that he loved. Later on you discover he is speaking of himself and the fear he felt in his search for the meaning of life. He instills the fear in the audience when he seems to be searching for volunteers and also finds a woman in the audience he admires for her beauty. We are all searching for meaning of life and who knows whether we will find it or not. Jeff switches what he’s talking about on a dime, displaying his brilliance as an actor keeping us in the palm of his hand from start to finish. I first saw Jeff’s prowess as an actor back in 2010 in “The Late Roy Bean” and he continues to get better with each role I have seen him perform. Jeff recently won Best Actor in a Play from Broadway World for his role in “As You Like It” at GAMM Theatre. To see why he won this award and to witness one of the best actors in this state, be sure to catch “Thom Pain” at Burbage Theatre before time runs out. Tell them Tony sent you. Bravo!

THOM PAIN (18 January to 24 February)

Burbage Theatre, 249 Roosevelt Street, Pawtucket, RI

1(401)484-0355 or www.burbagetheatre.org