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When you hear the title of a play is “The Revenge of the Space Pandas, or Binky Rudich and the Two-Speed Clock,” you may wrinkle your nose or roll your eyes. Then, when you hear David Mamet is the playwright, you just might raise an eyebrow or turn your head with an expletive.
David Mamet is well-known for his visceral, physical writing style marked by liberal grit, cynicism and profanity.
Look up the film adaptation of his play “Glengarry Glen Ross,” featuring Alec Baldwin, on YouTube and you’ll get the idea.
Mamet draws inspiration from writers such as Harold Pinter and Ernest Hemingway, and his often male-centric and machismo-packed works draw as much praise as criticism.
This is not the case with “The Revenge of the Space Pandas.” It’s a children’s show and a sci-fi farce. The play is not terribly complex, and this cannot be written off simply because it’s intended for children.
A young boy and girl and their talking sheep get transported to a distant planet, are pursued by the locals and then make it back. A hero’s journey or Oz epic this is not. Mamet clearly didn’t try very hard or spend much time on it.
In fact, tone and genre are very difficult to pin out. The campy elements of the alien inhabitants are a bit all over the map, and it wasn’t clear what was supposed to unite them.
Even the titular pandas are a very small part of the show. There are, in fact, only two of them. And they don’t seek revenge like the title suggests. The other members of the silent ensemble have no unique features beyond the spherical and conic pieces of Styrofoam strapped to their heads. They have an almost embarrassing lack of involvement, and what the hell they’re supposed to be is never really confirmed nor denied.
It’s difficult to say what Mamet wanted from this piece, as the text itself isn’t especially interesting or amusing. Some of the performers allow themselves to commit to their characters, while others do not take such risks. While some jokes are well sold, too many others are missed or dropped; perhaps this is because of the inconsistent overall tone or the script itself.
“The Revenge of the Space Pandas” is quite short, but has problems with pacing. There isn’t an abundance of ideas or relationships to ponder, so there’s really no reason to slow it down at all. It’s easier to sell the simple silliness if the action and dialogue can be kept snappy and fast.
The sound design is very good, but the set is very dull. The set piece that got the most attention was the huge, suddenly revealed and thoroughly fantastic chalkboard — a fine sight gag.
Unfortunately, it only appears for a brief beat and then is gone, never to return. It seems a waste.
Additionally, small technical staging issues arise that could be easily fixed. The physical space is presented on a thrust stage, and the audience’s seats are placed on three sides of it. However, the actors perform directly and almost solely to the front seat group, as if the stage was placed in a good, old-fashioned proscenium. Far too often, when in groups, the actors will simply stand in a line without staggering or basic awareness of their placement.
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“The Revenge of the Space Pandas” is by no means a flop or a failure. It just seems to lack elements to really tie it together as something more than the sum of its parts. It’s much like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle. The picture being presented is light and enjoyable, but simply isn’t cohesive or strong enough to support much in the end.
It’s cute. But it needs more of a wink.
“The Revenge of the Space Pandas, or Binky Rudich and the Two-Speed Clock”
by David Mamet
Directed by Kyle Bible
UNM’s Experimental Theater (Theater X)
Feb. 28 and March 1, 7:30 pm
$12 general, $8 staff and students
For tickets and reservations, call (505) 925-5858 or visit
unmtickets.com
