One of the reasons the play “Waiting for Godot” is now considered a classic is that playwright Samuel Beckett dramatized how the relationship between two individuals can serve as an anchor and a sort of salvation amidst the cruelty and absurdity of life.
Playwright Charlotte Jones did much the same with 1997’s “Airswimming,” the tragicomic tale now getting a smart and entertaining staging at Richmond Triangle Players (RTP). A story of two women relegated to an insane asylum, the play’s humor is heightened by the specifically British tenor of the banter. At the same time, the tragedy is deepened due to it being based on a true story.
The play begins with young Persephone (Calie Bain) arriving at St. Dymphna’s Hospital in 1924 with an only slightly noticeable baby bump, disoriented and defiant about her placement there. Dora (Kendall Walker), already a 2-year veteran of the facility, shows Persephone the ropes, introducing her to the restrictions imposed on women classified as “moral defectives.”
Dora speaks almost exclusively in military metaphors and it becomes clear that her gender expression is the basis for her diagnosis as “defective.”
Then, in the second scene, we’re introduced to Porph and Dorph (Patricia Austin and Jan Guarino, respectively), two much older women who share a playful relationship that largely involves Dorph humoring Porph’s obsession with Doris Day. Who these women are and their relationship to the couple introduced in the first scene becomes the compelling heart as well as the dark soul of the unfolding drama.
The script is miserly with scant facts doled out about each woman’s life, reinforcing that the specifics here are not as important as the relationships. Luckily for this production, director Melissa Rayford does a masterful job gently leading each couple through the subtle shifts and advancements in their alliances.
In the early going, Dora and Dorph are clearly the leading personalities, with Dora exclaiming “bravado!” at one point to characterize her approach to life. Though it is written as a one-act play, Rayford has split the show in two which serves to accentuate how the power dynamics change between the women in the second act.
Each cast member delivers an exceptional performance. Most delightfully surprising is Walker’s turn as Dora. Known more as a dramaturg and director (she helmed RTP’s antic “Scrooge in Rouge” last year), Walker projects a supremely confident swagger, the source of many of the jokes early on, making the slight faltering the character shows later on that much more affecting.
Bain continues her emergence as a remarkable actor in the wake of her heartbreaking performance in last season’s “Uncle Vanya.” Her innocent Persephone settles into a complacency that never loses a spark of defiance.
As Dorph, Guarino is a fascinating mix of gruffness and vulnerability. She effectively deploys her decades of comedic experience in perfectly timed reactions and wry asides in response to Austin’s bubbly and anxious take on Porph. In addition to her engaging energy, Austin also has a lovely singing voice, making her affectations of Doris Day diverting when they just could have been confusing.
The production’s technical team collaborates to create a dreamy ambiance, with Tennesse Dixon’s projections and Nathan Wunderlich’s lighting design underscoring the limbo-like unreality of the characters’ confinement. Rayford never forgets that the show depicts a bitter reality some women experienced, though, punctuating this fact at show’s end with slides describing more contemporary horrors.
Subtitled “A Comedy About Despair,” the show’s humor is abundant but also delicate, which made the opening night audience’s barking laughter in response to every line distracting. I expect subsequent audiences will find more satisfaction in the subdued pleasures of this finely-drawn story.
If there are quibbles to take they involve the script’s not-exactly cogent central metaphor and some scenes that could be tightened so as to ensure the couples’ developing relationship doesn’t drag.
However, similar to the experience of watching “Godot,” being lost in the limbo of “Airswimming” can be enlightening, heartening and transformative even as we’re reminded how harsh the world can be. With the help of her cast, Rayford delivers a poignant illustration of the sometimes life-saving love between two people.
“Airswimming” plays at Richmond Triangle Players, 1300 Altamont Ave., through May 4. Tickets and information available at https://rtriangle.org/.
