Photo by Melinda Rhodebeck
'A Sleep of Prisoners' at Acacia Theatre Company
Jason Will, Kerruan Sheppard and A.J. Magoon in 'A Sleep of Prisoners'
“Making Peace” is the theme of Acacia Theatre Company’s current season. And with its latest offering, A Sleep of Prisoners, we are asked to consider the effects of war on those who fight it. Not just in the physical sense, but in the spiritual sense. And therein lies the greater conflict: the inner “war” that rages within men’s minds while the eternal battles remain distant but ever present.
Prisoners is an anti-war drama by British playwright Christopher Fry, written 74 ears ago in the aftermath of World War II. Four English soldiers are prisoners of war locked in a church overnight as fighting rages on outside the bombed-out structure.
As tensions rise given their imprisonment and uncertainty, an act of violence occurs between two of them. And as a result, each of the four men have dreams that reflect biblical stories from the Old Testament: Cain and Abel, David and Absalom, Abraham and Isaac and Shadrac, Meshac and Abednego.
Fry’s writing is poetic, lyrical and written in verse. And while it is though-provoking—and certainly timely given the world’s state of affairs— it requires much work on the part of the four actors as well as the audience. The actors move back and forth between “real time” and “dream time” playing the various biblical characters which requires concentration, given the play’s abstract nature and layers of metaphorical meaning.
Talented Ensemble
Fortunately, a talented ensemble under the well-focused direction of Elaine Wyler makes Prisoners a fascinating glimpse into how war manifests itself into the human psyche. The cast uses a casual conversational tone, which makes the verse dialogue (set rhythms like poetry) easier to understand and follow.
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But it’s the fine acting by this foursome that makes Prisoners so captivating to watch. A.J. Magoon, David Sapiro, Kerruan Sheppard and Jason Will work well as an ensemble as well as individually. Given the sheer complexity and length of Fry’s verse dialogue, it’s an achievement in itself how they display such range and emotion given what could be POW caricatures.
In particular, veteran actor Sapiro fleshes out his physically wounded character with plenty of sardonic humor, quips and the simplest of nonverbal gestures that underscore the wearying effects of war and imprisonment. As the higher-ranking corporal of the four, Magoon shades his by-the-book military man with a quiet gentleness and caring that humanizes their dehumanizing imprisonment.
A Sleep of Prisoners ultimately is about making peace with ourselves, putting an end to the war within that only we can end— for ourselves.
A Sleep of Prisoners runs through March 23 in Norvell Commons at St. Christopher’s Church, 7845 N. River Road, River Hills. Running time: 65 minutes, no intermission. For more information, call: 414-744-5995, or visit: acaciatheatre.com
