At first glance, David Storey’s play “Home” seems to concern itself merely with the minutiae of the daily lives of retirees. But by play’s end the sanity of society as a whole is put in question.
In the beginning, two gentlemen discuss their past, though it becomes apparent that these reminiscences are imagined replacements for their real memories. The characters seem to be carrying the weight of their past deeds while lying about them. It is slowly revealed that the ‘institution’ in which the play is set is an insane asylum, not a retirement home — and that is only the first surprise.
As believable as the actors make their parts, the audience grows to disbelieve anything the characters say. The two men, Harry and Jack, played by Ray Orley and Colin Morgan respectively, reminisce about their lives and passing 1960s era. Their dialogue sometimes has the feel of free-form improvisation, as though they’re making up their memories as they go along.
The play is slyly humorous, especially when cynical Marjorie, played by Jean Moran, and flirtatious Kathleen, played by Linda Williams, are introduced. They are patients in the asylum as well, exhibiting a bawdy disposition in their humorous jabs at the men, but the light-hearted atmosphere doesn’t stay that way for long.
The play’s climax is two-fold. The audience’s realization that the institution is an insane asylum is accompanied by another. The characters’ foibles and fantasies are commonplace in society, and hardly unique. The closer the characters come to unraveling, the more their reality becomes a future possibility for the audience.
Chaos dominates throughout the play. For example, the characters obsess over finding enough chairs for them all to sit, though a pile of chairs rests behind them against the glass door. This chaotic undercurrent manifests itself more apparently as the play progresses, until we wonder how the characters splintered to such an extent.
In the end, Storey’s play implies that we’re all one misfortune away from similar mental anguish.
“Home”
by David Storey
The Vortex Theatre
2004 1/2 Central Ave.
Friday, Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, 2 p.m.
Runs until Nov. 6
$15 general admission
$10 student rush
