Stuart Nulman for Curtains Up
If you want to see a vivid example at how sometimes man is not always far off from his primate roots in this crazy world, then catch Infinitheatre’s “Kafka’s Ape”, which is playing at the Bain St. Michel – located at 5300 St. Dominique Street – until November 24.
Based on the story “A Report to an Academy” by Franz Kafka, the premise of “Kafka’s Ape” is the annual general meeting of Graywater, an international military “security” firm in which one of its bombastic slogans is that it’s a “company of heroes”. Mr. Redpeter, a half man-half ape dressed in a tuxedo, is the keynote speaker at the meeting.
Throughout his speech, Redpeter (excellently played by Howard Rosenstein) relates to the audience (who indirectly portray the Graywater shareholders at the meeting), of his somewhat “evolution” from ape to human (or as he refers to as “uman” – pronounced “oo-man”) from his capture in his native Gold Coast of Africa to his “education” to humanhood thanks to Graywater, where he becomes a certified hand-to-hand combat instructor for the company.
Rosenstein gives an intriguing performance as Mr. Redpeter, in which he shows that although he has become a somewhat “civilized” human, there are still traces of his primate past that still seep in (especially his apelike dance when he polishes off an entire bottle of fine wine, glassful by glassful, or as he swings along the ballroom decor as if it were jungle vines); basically, he effectively melds the mannerisms of ape and human in one well acted package. There’s plenty of irony in this play, as Redpeter, a distinguished, cultured and intelligent member of the peace industry shows that such an enforced personal change has made him more of an animal than before his rather violent capture in deepest, darkest Africa (and is not afraid to drop his trousers to proudly display his entry wound scars to the audience).
In a way, “Kafka’s Ape” is almost an intellectual argument for the raison d’etre of the “Planet of the Apes” movies, where one breed’s contempt for another breed has created so much confusion in the evolutionary food chain. An engaging solo performance. For more information or to purchase tickets, call 514-987-1774, ext. 104, or go to www.infinitheatre.com.
