Radiant Vermin

Reviewed by Iris Mann
Door Number 3 
Through November 18

RECOMMENDED

The virtually unaffordable cost of housing, a very timely issue, is the springboard for Philip Ridley’s vehicle, a darkly absurdist comedy that stretches the limits to which people will go to obtain desirable living conditions. Employing a style often reminiscent of Pinter, the British playwright expands his theme to examine people’s propensity, in an increasingly materialistic world, to always want more, no matter how much has been acquired. It is to Ridley’s credit that, despite how surreal his plot is, what he is saying is always crystal clear. This is a visiting production at the Odyssey Theatre, presented by the new company, Door Number 3.

As the proceedings commence, Jill (Britt Harris) and her husband, Ollie (Kapil Talwalkar), address the audience to tell their story and attempt to justify the unspeakable acts they have committed to keep upgrading their lifestyle. They take us back a year and a half to when they were expecting their baby. At the time, they occupied a tiny flat in the drug and suicide infested neighborhood called Red Ocean Estate. One day they received a letter from Miss Dee (Laura Faye Smith), head of the Department of Social Regeneration through the Creation of Dream Houses. It seems they had been selected to get a house, free of charge, which “has much potential in a locale that has much potential.” There was also a contract with several clauses that both had to sign. Ollie was hesitant, but Jill insisted that they needed to bring up their baby in better surroundings.

Soon after they moved into their new house, Ollie had a tragically unfortunate encounter with a homeless intruder. Immediately, the kitchen became beautifully renovated. Without revealing all the details, suffice it to say that the two slowly came to discover just what they had to do to keep improving their living conditions – and they acquiesced. The title, “Radiant Vermin” refers to the down and out homeless — the vermin – who are made to glow momentarily, just preceding each home improvement.

Director Tim True does an expert job of staging on a very spare set that consists of stairs and poles, symbolizing an unfinished house. He establishes just the proper pace for unfolding a procession of nefarious acts, and he elicits fascinating, focused, and fully involved performances from his cast.

Harris and Talwalkar, whose characters go back and forth at first, each resisting and then endorsing the path they come to follow, take a frequently matter-of-fact, logical approach that is perfectly suited to the style of the piece. In addition, Talwalkar’s pantomime in certain sections is skillfully executed. There is also a baby’s birthday party scene during which the two go from playing one guest after another, as well as their primary roles, “on a dime,” so to speak, and they carry out that herculean task expertly. The scene does go on a bit too long, however, as it adds little to the core issues being explored.

Smith is a standout in two contrasting roles. When playing Miss Dee, she is a combination of Mary Poppins and the charming elegant bearer of a Faustian bargain. Later on, she is unrecognizable, and quite sympathetic as a vagrant who becomes a strangely willing victim. In this role, she is a bit of an Eliza Doolittle, complete with lower class accent.

Speaking of accents, it is particularly gratifying to hear actors maintain their British dialects with authenticity and consistency.

At the play’s end the audience members get an offer that challenges them to ponder how far they would go under the same circumstances.

Odyssey Theatre, 2055 S. Sepulveda Blvd., Sawtelle; Thurs.- Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Nov. 18. (310) 477-2055 x2 or www.dn3theatre.org. Running time: 2 hrs. with one intermission.