Gruesome Playground Injuries

Reviewed by Pauline Adamek

Rogue Machine

Through June 23

Playwright Rajiv Joseph gained notoriety when his politically charged play, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo — which debuted at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in May 2009 before moving to Broadway — was shortlisted for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Gruesome Playground Injuries had its world premiere later that same year. Both are different animals indeed.

A one-act, two-hander, Gruesome stars Jules Willcox as Kayleen opposite Brad Fleischer, who originated the role of Doug back in 2009.

Joseph’s gloomy drama ostensibly charts a fractious yet strangely healing friendship between a boy and a girl who, when aged 8, first meet in the nurse’s office at their Catholic school, and continue to meet up every few years or so when one or other (or both) has suffered an injury, hence the title. To keep things interesting during the 30-year timeframe, the chronology jumps about and is marked by the players on a prominently visible chalkboard that also indicates a loose title for each scene, e.g. “Face Split Open.” It’s a cute and handy device that helps us track where these characters are in their respective lives each time they reconnect with each other.

Unfortunately Gruesome’s storyline ultimately proves fairly pointless. That disappointing aspect, coupled with a pair of unengaging characters, makes for a slightly tedious night at the theater. The script calls for the actors to re-costume themselves and meticulously reset the stage for each different scene, and after about an hour that device becomes wearying, to the extent that the final half hour shuffles towards its conclusion.

Sound designer Colin Wambsgans’ mostly cutesy pizzicato score during these entr’actes doesn’t help matters. David Mauer’s simple yet ingenious scenic design, however, is extremely well devised not only to permit numerous variations of hospital rooms and bedrooms but also cunningly to contain many cupboards and crevices where the performers stow discarded props and costume items. In fact, it is diverting to guess where they’ll hide stuff (some bulky items are even shuffled off the tiny stage through to the foyer).

Also diverting is Willcox’s seemingly endless repertoire of hairstyles.

Director Larissa Kokernot stages this play well and elicits mostly fine performances. While the childish acting in scene one is a bit grating, the pair’s chemistry is excellent, given they have to play a spectrum of inchoate attraction.

The storyline, however, is simply not arresting enough for us to care. We come to realize that Doug is accident-prone. His fearlessness as a young child sees him attempting to ride his bike off the school’s roof, and he becomes more and more permanently injured as he ages. Is it symptomatic of something deeper than mere carelessness? That answer remains elusive.

The frequently hostile Kayleen, however, deliberately wounds herself in numerous ways, suggesting a psyche fractured by abandonment by her mother and almost certain abuse at her father’s hands, as well as probable date-rape, though this is not made explicit. It’s depressing that these two wounded people never seem to be able to fully heal each other, nor create a whole, by joining forces against a harsh world.

Rogue Machine, 5041 W. Pico Blvd., L.A.; Sat., 5 p.m.; Sun., 7 p.m.; Mon., 8 p.m.; through June 22. (855) 585-5185, www.roguemachinetheatre.com