Currents Spring 2020 (Vol. 36, No. 1) | Page 35

Luke Jenkins (Peter / Simon), and Julia Righton (Kristin)
intimidated, Trudi gushes admiration for Kristin’s works and
her country kitchen’s artsy embellishments, while ignoring
Kristin’s acerbic quips. Their present, an African mask, sets
off a typical Kristin discourse that hurts Trudi’s feelings, until
Peter’s frown curbs mum’s tongue; albeit later she criticizes
Peter’s profession, accusing him of being a “taker.” Hugh and
Claire’s arrival triggers Kristin’s next face-off, this time with
Claire about her profession. Hugh, her stalwart friend, steps in,
particularly during talk about Kristin’s acrimonious divorce.
He reminisces, “I suppose we just wanted to change the world.”
Simon texts he’s enroute, and dinner conversation more-or-
less flows until Trudi compliments Claire’s dress. Pleased,
Michelle Fahrenheim (Claire), Luke Jenkins (Peter / Simon), and Annelise
Bianchini (Trudi)
Claire’s explanation ignites Kristin’s rampant opinions, and
lord forbid that anyone disagree. During the heated exchange,
Trudi accidentally upsets red wine on Claire’s white designer
dress; Claire calls Kristen a “dinosaur,” and infuriated, Peter
demands Kristin justify having children if unprepared “to do
the job properly?” Oops! Kristin’s purported “memoir” doesn’t
mention her sons. To what extent it hurt them emerges while
mending Simon’s hand much later. Mostly monosyllabic, Simon
relives a distressing childhood account; belatedly, Kristin is
cognizant of parental fault. That is unsettlingly reinforced in
the morning when she discovers the African mask’s meaning.
Can Kristin’s resiliency confidently permit change?
Versatile director Paul Glaser wanted to stage Apologia for
some time. Recognizing its challenges, Glaser’s approach
was one of applying continuous fluctuation, beginning
with letting actors move spontaneously through their lines
during rehearsals. As they familiarized themselves with
their characters, shifts occurred, were incorporated, and
once grounded so was the action. Ever resourceful, Glaser
Credit: © Kock, ETH
From left: Michael Garland (Hugh), Michelle Fahrenheim (Claire), Luke Jenkins
(Peter / Simon), Annelise Bianchini (Trudi), and Julia Righton (Kristin)
showed the thespians documentary clips demonstrating the
nonconformist 1960s.
The actors compared portraying Apologia’s difficult
interpersonal complexities to peeling layers off an onion.
Annelise Bianchini’s journey as Trudi happens literally
overnight when Trudi faces and deals with uncomfortable
facts; to portray, Annelise combined thoughtful equipoise
with unfailing candor. Whereas Michelle Fahrenheim found
Claire flummoxing: “Why the f**k did she come to the party?
Why did she stay?” Michelle undertook to understand Claire’s
contradictory personality, plus incorporate what happens
to Claire offstage (e.g., a talk with Simon) into her onstage
interpretation. Playing both of Kristin’s sons, Luke Jenkins
understood Peter’s transparent personality, but struggled to
understand and then depict Simon’s instability. Additionally,
Luke must switch characters fast so audiences can grasp the
differences between the brothers. One of Michael Garland’s
challenges was Hugh’s lines—many short sentences, with slight
changes, delivered in quick succession that if incorrect would
affect the overall dialogue’s context. A second challenge was
joining rehearsals on the third day; having only three weeks,
Michael worked overtime catching up. Hugh’s insightfulness
into Kristin is ballast to the hailstorm of events that unfold.
For Julia Righton, portraying Kristin’s journey required that
she carefully measure out the evening’s emotional effect on
her character. Content and intolerant, Kristin unmasks herself
by doggedly wanting to be right. Julia’s intention is to increase
audiences’ understanding enough to wonder: Is Kristin
willing to change?
The thespians have a great esprit de corps—as if they
linked arms, jumped, and now are flying as one with their
perceptively interpreted characters. What is worth pondering
is why Cambell wrote idealism as a double-edged sword. The
catalyst is the memoir, but by the early light of dawn everyone
has laid aside his or her mask, however briefly.
APOLOGIA premiered February 13 and runs until April
11, 2020. The next production is OUTSIDE MULLINGAR, a
comedy by John Patrick Shanley. Premiering on April 23, it
runs through June 20, 2020.
Evening and matinee performances; tickets available at the
theatre or online: www.englishtheatre.de. The English Theatre
of Hamburg, Lerchenfeld 14, 22081 Hamburg, Tel: [phone]
89: U-Bahn Mundsburg.
by Marinell Haegelin
www.awchamburg.org
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