“M: Refractions from an Evil Act”. Written by James Wilkinson; Directed by Joe Juknievich; Produced by Morganna Becker and Laura Crook Waxdal; Lighting Design by Nick Duffy; Costumes by Laura Crook Waxdal. Presented by Exiled Theatre at Boston Playwrights Theatre, 949 Commonwealth Ave, Boston through August 9
By Mike Hoban
Summer theater offerings are generally something of a curse and a blessing for those of us who love theater. On the one hand, companies from community theaters to regional powerhouses allow us to reconnect with the iconic works ─ usually the musicals that brought many of us to theater in the first place. What these productions often lack, however, is the sense of adventure that well-produced fringe theater can bring. And while the productions I’ve seen this summer have largely been very good, they’re more like listening to a classic rock tribute band than the unpredictability of a night of rock n’ roll at a local club.
M: Refractions from an Evil Act, now being given its world premiere by Exiled Theatre at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre as part of their New Play Incubator program, clearly falls into the latter category. Penned by Exiled co-founder (and former Theater Mirror reviewer) James Wilkinson, this superbly acted psychological/supernatural thriller is vintage Wilkinson. Evil typically runs through his work (the IRNE-nominated Nurse and 2023’s Hauntings I Have Lived Through) like a fetid stream through a New York City sewer, and Refractions is no exception. Doors open and close as if guided by unseen hands, characters experience sudden nosebleeds, and black goo occasionally oozes from their mouths. This production is no Annie revival.
The play opens with a 40-ish man in a business suit (Tim Hoover) lying on the floor in a hotel. He stirs and struggles to his feet like a drunk coming off a three-day bender ─ complete with dark circles under his eyes. He pulls himself together, calls out a name, and exits the room. Moments later, we meet M (Julia Hertzberg), a thirty-something American woman returning from a night of bar-hopping in a French-speaking country. She senses that someone has been in her room, and when the maid Jolene (Sydney Grant) appears moments later, she begins interrogating her ─ to no avail given the maid’s limited command of English and M’s degrading manner. Frustrated, she summons the Clerk (Peter Tone) from the front desk, and a complex narrative begins to unfold.
During the conversation with the Clerk, we gather that the purpose of M’s trip is to get away from a tragic event stateside, although it’s never clear if she is the perpetrator, victim, or grieving survivor. At one point, as if in a trance, she describes a horrific scene where, during her evening out, she breaks a bottle over a man’s head and sticks the broken bottle into his neck to “(see if) his eyes would roll back.” It’s here that we begin to question whether she’s talking about the present or the event that brought her to the hotel ─ or if it happened at all. From there, the plot thickens, with veiled references to a murder in the hotel, a suicide, and whether the man on the floor (named Lone, we learn) is real or an apparition. This is a production that could have easily devolved into a confusing mess, but taut direction by Joe Juknievich (who also directed 2017’s Nurse) keeps us riveted despite not having any clear narrative anchors to cling to.
Another strength of the production is the performances by the actors. Hertzberg is absolutely compelling as M, the hard-drinking Ugly American tourist, equally repugnant and worthy of our sympathy as her life spins out of control on this nightmarish evening that may never end. Grant and Tone as the Maid and the Clerk are so spot-on in their performances that it seems difficult to believe that they aren’t French hotel staff, and Hoover embodies fear and bewilderment in the role of Lone.
Refractions may not be for everyone, particularly since the denouement of nearly every Harlan Coben-style series on streaming services neatly ties up any questions left by the closing credits. It’s definitely challenging for the audience, but well worth it for those seeking something off the beaten path for their theatrical palate. For tickets and information, go to: https://www.exiledtheatre.com/
