About three decades ago, when “Saturday Night Live” was actually funny, they had a regular bit called “Bad Playhouse,” in which Dan Ackroyd as Leonard Pimpf Garnel would introduce pretentious, incomprehensible plays, and once they were over, he would reappear saying: “There, that wasn’tvery good, was it? Simply terrible. Couldn’t be worse.”
Those unlucky theater-goers who sit through Forum Theatre & Dance’s production of Caryl Churchill’s 1994 play “The Skriker” will be left wondering where Mr. Pimpf Garnel is when you really need him. Though two of the Washington area’s most talented heavy-hitters — director Kathleen Akerley and actress Nanna Ingvarsson, in the title role — are involved, even they can’t salvage Churchill’s self-indulgent mess of a script.
The plot, or what little there is, involves two best friends, mental patient Josie (Katie Atkinson) and unwed, mother-to-be Lily (Lindsay Haynes), who are being haunted (or tormented, or harassed, or whatever) by the Skriker, a mythical spirit from British fairy tales that covets Lily’s unborn child, and other assorted fantasy figures. That’s pretty much all there is to the story.
There were audience members on opening night that wanted to work with the show and were laughing enthusiastically during the first half-hour, but by the time the last half-hour crawled along, they were as quiet as monks under a vow of silence. (“The Skriker” runs an hour and 45 minutes, without an intermission. It just seems twice that long.)
According to the Director’s Notes, “The Skriker” has a “subtle, subversive environmental message.” However, while watching it, you couldn’t find the message with a minesweeper. In fact, this is just about the worst written piece of tripe local audiences have been subjected to since Theater J unearthed a couple of terminally unfunny Woody Allen one-acts two summers ago.
Which is a shame because the production does have a few assets. Both Atkinson and Haynes give excellent performances, and Pei Lee’s costumes are imaginative and eye-catching. Unfortunately, these aren’t enough to turn this sow’s ear of a play into a theatrical silk purse.
Oh well, at least bad plays, unlike bad movies, vanish into thin air once their run is over. When Forum’s “The Skriker” does its disappearing act, it won’t be one moment too soon.
‘The Skriker’
Forum Theatre & Dance’s production of “The Skriker” runs through Dec. 23.
Venue: The Warehouse Theater, 1021 7th Street, NW, Washington
Performances: 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sundays
Tickets: $12 to $18
More info: 202-489-1701 or www.forumtd.org
