Not-To-Miss: “The Niceties” is Urgently Acted

 

Varinique 'V' Davis and Amy Thone (Joe Moore)

The Niceties

Intiman Theatre

At Erickson Theatre

Through April 29, 2023

The fierce arguments between Janine Bosko (Amy Thone) and Zoe Reed (Varinique “V” Davis) in The Niceties are as brutal, intense and absorbing as any political-polemic-on-stage you may ever see. Bosko, a history professor, and Reed, a whip-smart well-prepared junior in college, each implore, beseech, demand, and exhort each other to LISTEN.
 
And yet, they yell past each other, rarely even acknowledging some of the heart-rending details each reveals about their personal life. As intense as this is, it feels like Not To Miss Theater. Eleanor Burgess' playwriting is crisp and, while intellectual at times, beautifully encapsulates the various issues at hand between the white professor and the Black student.

There are plenty of power dynamics, and not all on one side. There are free-speech issues, class issues, educational integrity – or lack thereof, generational divides, racial reckoning, the urgency of youth, the practical patience of an age of experience. The characters, as the playwright says in her script introduction, are neither all right or all wrong, but are human and complex.
 
Thone and Davis are both brilliant. They are worthy opponents and bring every emotional ability into play. They disappear into their characters fully, so that their acting feels like “them” and it’s hard to decide if they are “acting.”
 
There are some decisions in terms of the staging that are interesting, and open to what-if-ing, partly due to the sound bounce in the Erickson Theater space. My own slight deterioration in hearing clarity became a problem no matter where I sat, because the play was done in the round. I think I understand why that choice was made by director Sheila Daniels, and it did “cage” the actors in. And then, what would change if it were a more standard proscenium? In terms of handling the direction of the actors, and bringing the difficult emotions out for air, she clearly made a safe space for this difficult work.
 
The tightly packed school office space set created by Jennifer Zeyl provided all the slightly-stuffy, years of collections, feeling appropriate to the play. The sound by Matt Starritt was subtle and clearly understood what was necessary.
 
I hope I have lit a spark of interest in the production and that you’ll go to hear very well laid out arguments that we continue to need to engage with now. The play does not “answer” the issues or come to some treacly or unrealistic solution. And that’s real life.
 
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