April 19–26, 2001

arts picks|theater

2 X Sam

Attention fellow Becketteers: 2 X Sam: An Evening of Samuel Beckett is a rare chance to see two short and almost-never produced works by the late great Samuel Beckett (Waiting for Godot, Endgame), the playwright who reinvented 20th century drama. Crescendo, one of the newest theater companies in town, gave us, at the last Fringe Festival, a hip-hop version of Woyzeck and, more recently, a production of Durang’s The Nature and Purpose of the Universe. This double bill, 2 X Sam, is a testimony to their courage; theatrically speaking, Beckett is feet-to-the-fire time.

Rough for Radio II, was (as is obvious from the title) written to be heard rather than seen — all dialogue and sound effects, so Crescendo has the additional challenge of figuring out how to stage a work intended for the radio. The metaphoric and often grimly funny plot involves four characters: a man named Fox who is visited — yet again — by "the same old team": a boss, his secretary and a torturer with a whip. It is short, intense and tantalizes with meaning.

Act Without Words II provides the opposite theatrical condition (as is obvious from its title): It’s all stage directions and no dialogue. A long pole emerges from offstage and prods two people, A and B, who are sleeping in sacks. They emerge. They brush their teeth, comb their hair, etc. (What, you wanted Drama? Event? This is Beckett, folks.) This brief silent play, a most extreme theatrical condition, should keep you talking all the way home.

—Toby Zinman

2 X Sam: An Evening of Samuel Beckett, Crescendo Theatre Co., The Playground at the Adrienne, 2030 Sansom St., April 23-27, 215-563-4330.