Last Swallows
Reviewed by Nikki Munoz
Pandelia Canary Yellow Company
Through October 10
Last Swallows is a family drama whose title refers, at least in part, to its patriarch Robert (Bob Telford), whose bird watching hobby makes up a significant part of his character. Robert is not the real center of the family, however; rather, it is his wife, Elizabeth (Shaw Purnell).
Written by Cailin Maureen Harrison and directed by Kiff Scholl at The Other Space Theatre, Last Swallows follows Elizabeth as she desperately tries to round up the whole clan for vacation, convinced that this will be the last opportunity for them all to be together. The play aims to present a complex chaotic family as they deal with the natural progression of life and the inevitable tribulations that must be faced. The production misses some marks while hitting others.
Many of the characters are blatantly one-dimensional. The personalities of the siblings become apparent through their vibrant realistic interactions — but only marginally. Their spouses, who have less stage time, remain noticeably flat. Despite these limitations, each actor does his or her best with the material they’ve been given.
This is best observed in Purnell in her role as Elizabeth. Elizabeth is easily the most fleshed out character and Purnell underscores every nuance with her strong and commanding presence — even when her character is struck weak by various obstacles, both physical and mental. Elizabeth’s desperation to bring her family together is striking, and grounds the plot with convincing emotional stakes. Purnell also brings humor to Elizabeth through her occasional naiveties and frequent fixations — the same fixations that bring deep sadness at other moments of the play. Because we care about this character, we care about the family as a whole.
Collectively, these people are meant to be defined by a chaotic energy, with a lot of moving parts that conflict. To establish this, the playwright employs overlapping conversations, with characters in different settings speaking over each other — two, or sometimes even three, conversations happening simultaneously. The apparent purpose of this device is to reveal the underlying connections and similarities among these characters; unfortunately, this functions instead as a distraction that keeps the audience from remaining engaged.
What does work is director Scholl’s staging — having the performers cross and interweave on the small stage as they speak. In fact, this blocking works so well to create the chaos at the heart of the story that it would have been better performed without the overlapping dialogue.
Last Swallows draws to a close with a jarring and poignant scene in a hospital room, with all the characters effectively brought together despite the script’s mishandled schematics. The play should have ended there; instead, it continues for one more scene, in an attempt at a neatly-tied bow of an ending. Unfortunately, this ending contradicts everything the play up till now has aimed to do: portray the disarray and stubborn reality of one family’s experience over the passage of time.
The Actors Company — The Other Space Theatre, 916 N. Formosa Ave., West Hollywood; Fri.-Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Oct. 10. https://www.onstage411.com/newsite/boxoffice. Running time: one hour and 50 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.
