Split Confusion: Media Frenzy

Split Confusion, a new one-act play by Ned Colby '02, who is also a Crimson editor, begins as Georges Depardieu (cousin of French film star Gerard Depardieu) falls drunkenly asleep in an easy chair in his home. When he wakes up, his house does not belong to him anymore; it belongs instead to an anonymous unseen "Master" and his smug butler Jeremiah, who are throwing a dinner party for two couples, each of which is an alternate version of Georges and his girlfriend Chery. Georges 2 is a pimp whose assets include Chery 2; George 3 is Georgia, a woman, and Chery #3 is Chuck, a man who dresses in drag. And about halfway through the play, the disembodied voice of the Master announces, humorously, that the "play is a critical commentary on the misplaced values of the twentieth century underscored by elements of Ionescoesque absurdism."

Unfortunately, the play fails to fully deliver on this intellectual undertone beneath its comedy. When it does try to do so, it can seem didactic, obvious, or self-referential; Split Confusion assumes its own conclusion-that television is the primary source of the woes and anxieties of our modern age.

But Beth Newhall's direction chooses not to focus on the intellectual side of the show; it seems to have consisted mainly of inserting bits of physical comedy into the often tepid dialogue. Perhaps Colby should thank her for having done so, for this slapstick provides the balance of levity in the show.

As Georges, Jeremy Funke '04 makes a doubtful leading man around which to anchor the production. He quickly forgets to affect drunkenness and in his black sneakers, black jeans, too-long belt and skinny tie, he looks more like a reject from a ska band than anyone who would be comfortable in the domestic sphere. Stephen Quinlan '04 is a high point as Jeremiah, the aforementioned smug butler; he carefully tries to integrate his often detached-sounding spoken lines into a coherent dramatic performance.

Split Confusion ultimately falters, however, by wanting to be more like television rather than less. Colby's play, which has a running time of about 30 minutes, seems calculated to reflect on television programming as a whole. But as in television, this time constraint leads to limited character development and a rather programmatic plot. Moreover, the dialogue in Split Confusion seems forced by time limitations to quickly culminate in a punch line, just as on TV.

In the end, the play seems to lampoon what everybody already acknowledges to be the worst aspects of the TV genre, inadvertently replicating them in the process. For all the energy of the Adams Pool Theatercast, this gives the production a sense of tiredness and lack of originality. Split Confusion sets out to attack the mediocracy of media but in the end does more to emulate it than undermine it.

SPLIT CONFUSION

written by

Ned Colby '02

directed by

Beth Newhall '02

Nov. 30 - Dec. 2

written by

Ned Colby '02

directed by

Beth Newhall '02

Nov. 30 - Dec. 2