My pal John Yearley has a show up. You should go see it. You only have three more days to do so. The Unrepeatable Moment is the latest offering from The Barrow Group, known for their fierce pursuit of naturalistic acting and clear storytelling. I've often left Barrow Group shows full of admiration for the skilled and gifted actors but less thrilled with the writing. Not so this time. Not even a little bit.
Here's the dirty little secret of the Off-Off theatre scene. Many of the opportunities available to actors at this level are written by playwrights who are truly at their core auditioning for Hollywood, whether they admit that to themselves or not. And so, we get lots and lots of shows with clever one-liners, sexy scenarios but not a lot of depth.
John Yearley's writing is deep. He loves the human condition and he loves language. What do I mean by the word "love" in this context? I mean he is fascinated and consumed with a curiosity about both these things. And to my mind, that's what's required if one is to ever have a hope of becoming a great playwright. Sure, you can have a pretty good career as a writer with a mere talent for irony but my friend Johnny has so much more to offer than that.
Lucky for us, some of it -- six short plays, to be exact -- is available for us to experience now. And Saturday. And Sunday, as well. Although, of course, this being the theatre, each night will be unique.
