The Clean House: as a Pulitzer Prize finalist the play falls flat.

The Clean house by Susan Ruhl, Three Sisters Theatre Company, Directed by Mary Ellis

The most striking aspect of Sarah Ruhl’s The Clean House is that the sum of the parts is far less than the play as a whole. The most amazing view of this 2004 play’s history is that it was a Pulitzer Prize finalist. (2005 must have been a dry year for playwriting in the U.S.)

As absurdist theatre, it almost works some of the time. As a totally coherent storyline, it frequently falls flat.

 

The play begins with the Brazilian maid/would-be comedienne — outfitted in black — telling a lengthy joke in Portugese. Her employer, a doctor — outfitted in white, to match the white of the furniture in her apartment — delivers the next monologue detailing her dissatisfaction with the cleaning job. Her sister — a Bryn Mawr-educated housewife clad in bright colours — delivers an ode to the value of cleanliness and the insanity of not cleaning one’s own house.

 

Among the more interesting segments are the spiky interchanges between the sisters, which are generally more believable than the eternal triangle of the self-satisfied doctor, her husband, a surgeon, who has fallen for an older, dying  patient (proclaimed as his soulmate).

 

You have to suspend a huge amount of disbelief to accept that a woman who has just had a full mastectomy would be interested in a physical relationship during her recovery period. You wonder why the doctor would risk his licence for the first time after more than two decades of an apparently happy marriage. You cannot find a logical reason for the sister taking over from the maid as the house cleaner.

 

It is equally difficult to accept the silliness of the mixture of locations. At one point, the maid and the mistress, who now employs the maid part-time, stand on a balcony and throw the apples they have picked into the sea. They land in the doctor’s living room.

 

Apparently, the playwright does not like the words “quirky” or “whimsical” applied to her work. For my money, such words are too kind for The Clean House.

 

The Three Sisters Theatre Company’s production, directed by Mary Ellis, follows the requirements of the script, including having the surgeon rushing off to bring back a yew tree for his dying love. (In 1967, some compounds in the bark of yew trees were found to be anti-cancer agents.)

 

It is a relief that the quality of the performances of the three main characters compensate for the general lack of entertainment value of the script. Robin Guy is highly effective as the doctor whose life is falling apart around her. Cindy Beaton delivers an excellent characterization of her sister, dissatisfied with her own life, jealous of her sister and obsessed with cleanliness. And Puja Uppal has some very funny moments as the maid.

 

In some respects it is a pity that Three Sisters has settled on a mandate that limits its choice of plays to those with good female roles. Hopefully, the company will keep the audience as well as the actors in mind when selecting its next offering. (Note to Three Sisters: Check out John Murrell’s Waiting for the Parade and Jack Heifner’s Vanities for example.)

 

The Clean House continues at the Gladstone to February 24.

 

Director………………………………………………………..Mary Ellis

Set……………………………………………………………..Andrea Steinwand

Lighting……………………………………………………….David Magladry

Sound………………………………………………………….Robin Guy

Costumes………………………………………………………Michelle Ferranti

 

Cast:

Matilde…………………………………………………………Puja Uppal

Lane…………………………………………………………….Robin Guy

Virginia…………………………………………………………Cindy Beaton

Charles………………………………………………………….Guy Buller

Ana……………………………………………………………..Rebecca Benson