Ice Factory 2011: The Pig, or Vaclav Havel's Hunt for a Pig
3-Legged Dog
80 Greenwich Street
(between Rector and Edgar Streets)
New York, NY 10008
Wed, June 29, 2011 – Sat, July 2, 2011
for tickets to The Ice Factory Festival (through July 30th) http://www.SohoThinkTank.org
The Pig,(closed 7/2) started out really well, with promises of Havel, sandwiches, and beer, but like so many promises, it couldn't quite meet those the high expectations. Did I enjoy The Pig? Not as much as I wanted to. Did I want to enjoy it? Yes, very much, I very much wanted to enjoy it. Why? Einhorn's vision for theater is where theater is headed. Sitting at my table, with pork and beer in hand, I knew I was not in for the usual fare. But the smart form was not the foundation for clear strong content.
The Pig is drawn from many textual and inspirational sources, and throughout my viewing of it I kept trying to distinguish one bit from another, which didn’t help matters. I really wanted to know which aspects were from the original Havel essay, which were from The Bartered Bride, which were new, and the reasons for bringing these all together in one giant operetta/not-operetta (ceci n’est pas une operetta perhaps?).
There was one clue, which was the character of the American journalist. Decked out in her 1980’s Cosmo girl best, this journalist had been sent to interview Havel about his efforts to get a whole pig for a big party. She said things like “liberry” instead of library, didn’t seem to know Czechoslovakia from Alabama, and had to be prompted to ask questions of this legendary dissident, writer, and future Czech president. Was her character a) meant to be a way in for the audience to understand the intricacies of the Czechoslovakian political climate at the time (late 1980’s), b) a comment on the internationally perceived stupidity of Americans (so readily embraced by American artists), or c) both? Who can say? But I wasn’t crazy about this character. There was a poignant moment when, at the end, she finally asked a meaningful question about Perestroika and her tv network shut off her camera, but it wasn’t enough to make her any more than a model turned weather girl turned foreign correspondent.
All that aside, I thought the performances were terrific, the singing, the music, the characterizations, were all really spontaneous and communicative. But the experience was, for me, more a test of whether or not I’d done my reading than an enjoyable, evocative theater experience.
Libby Emmons is a guest blogger and NYTR published playwright, for more info on Libby Emmons
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