Necessary Monsters: A Carnivalesque Journey Through the Dark Side of Human Nature
Evelyn Howe as Faye the Fairy. Photo: Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo.
John Kuntz’s fantastical Necessary Monsters (whose title is borrowed from Jorge Luis Borges), now at Boston’s Speakeasy Stage, first saw the light of day in 2011 at the Boston Conservatory where Kuntz devised it with his acting class. Impressed with its possibilities, the Speakeasy Company decided to give Necessary Monsters its professional début. Although Kuntz staged it at the Conservatory, directing chores for this production are in the capable hands of David R. Gammons, who has often worked with John Kuntz, a well-known Boston actor. In Necessary Monsters, Kuntz plays the waiter Stephen, a rare kindly character; Theo, a maniacal psychiatrist; and a nameless steward. Necessary Monsters’ fourteen roles are performed by eight talented actors.