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| Sofie (Liz Sklar) goes on a rampage, strewing toys before tackling perches and furniture. |
A missing cat leads to the undoing of the three
human characters in Jen Silverman’s “Wink,” a world premiere presented by Marin
Theatre Company.
The cat, Wink, was loved by Sofie (Liz Sklar) and
despised by her husband, Gregor (Seann Gallagher). Both are separately seeing a
psychiatrist, Dr. Frans (Kevin R. Free), about their troubled marriage.
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| Gregor (Seann Gallagher) fondles the dead cat's skin. |
Gregor tells Dr. Frans that, unbeknownst to Sofie,
he killed the cat by skinning it and burying it in the garden. However, he
saved the skin and keeps it in a box.
As advised by Dr. Frans, Sofie numbly does housework
until one day, while vacuuming, she goes berserk.
She strews boxes of cat toys onto the floor and
upends the cat perches and even the furniture. For the coup de grâce, she
pounds holes in the walls.
When Gregor returns from work, she says an attacker
made the mess. In her mind, she calls him Roland and attributes all sorts of
disasters to him.
Next, Wink (John William Watkins), wearing nothing
but a flesh-colored thong and smeared with dirt, vaults onto the wall.
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| Wink (John William Watkins) tries to ingratiate himself with Dr. Frans (Kevin R. Free). |
Soon he moves in on Dr. Frans in a relationship that
has homoerotic overtones.
By the play’s end, all three humans are in bad
shape, but Wink has departed to go about his cat ways.
As directed by Mike Donahue, the four actors are
superb, but special note needs to be made of Watkins’ ability to mimic a cat’s
movements even though the character is weird.
The set, which doubles as Sofie and Gregor’s home
and as Dr. Frans’ office, is by Dane Laffrey, who also designed the costumes.
Lighting is by Jen Schreiver, sound by Jake Rodriguez
and fight choreography by Dave Maier. Daniel Kluger wrote the song that Sofie
sings.
Laced with dark humor, “Wink” is preposterous but
fascinating.
Running about 75 minutes with no intermission, it
will continue through July 7 at Marin Theatre Company, 397 Miller Ave., Mill
Valley.
Photos
by Kevin Berne
