Review by James Wilkinson
‘The Clearing’ – Written by Helen Edmundson. Directed by Daniel Bourque. Set Design: Cassie Chapados. Lighting Design: Chris Bocchiaro. Sound Design: Ian Conway. Costume Design: Erica Desautels and Nancy Ishara. Props Designer: Justin Lahue. Presented by Hub Theatre Company at First Church in Boston, April 5-20, 2019.
For the first ten minutes of Hub Theatre Company’s production of The Clearing I had a sinking feeling in my gut that I was convinced would be with me the whole evening. I had purposefully gone into the theater knowing as little as possible about the plot of Helen Edmundson’s play, so I wasn’t really sure what I was getting into. That sinking feeling began when the lights went down and a projection revealed that we were stepping into 17th century Ireland and got worse when actress Lily Steven ran onstage in period costume and actor Jon Vellante began speaking in a thick Irish brogue. It’s clear that the design team has gone all out for the production (more on that in a bit), but in my own humble experience, historical narratives tend to run dry on stage, featuring characters and dialogue that’s practically upholstered. So when a production telegraphs that we’re going to be traveling long ago and far away, I usually start looking for the exit and wondering if I can make a break for it.
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