Theater Critic Rosalind Friedman ends her review of Alan
Ayckbourn’s “Things We Do For Love” (see ‘Current Reviews’ on the Connecticut
Critics Circle web site), which is running at the Westport Country Playhouse,
by commenting on the nudity (actually, it’s semi-nudity and feigned intercourse)
in the play. She notes: “This trend [of stage nudity] is not a good one. If a
play is well-written, let it stand on its own. Fully clothed!!”
I both agree and disagree.
As sophisticated as we may think we are, seeing an actor
nude on stage still brings us up short. Unless we are naturists, we are not
used to seeing the naked human body outside of the confines of our own homes
(or when some of us surf the Internet in search of stimulation). Thus, it is
the theatrical form of the exclamation point and, as we were all taught
somewhere along the way, that particular piece of punctuation should be used
sparingly (unless, of course, we are texting or tweeting – then, OMG!!!!!! all
rules are off).
I would suggest that there is the right time to bare it
all…and the wrong time, and all too often directors do succumb to the
gratuitous gesture…because ever since “Hair” and “Oh! Calcutta ! (note the exclamation points), they
can. However, nudity, used wisely, can enhance the theatrical experience…and
make a moment riveting.
In her complaint, Friedman references several recent
productions. She notes the staging of “Song at Twilight,” which first appeared
up at Hartford Stage and then was re-staged at the Westport Country Playhouse,
both boardings under the direction of Mark Lamos, WCP’s artistic director. In
both cases, there are two mimed vignettes featuring two semi-nude (and then
nude) men embracing. The nudity itself was, at least for me, not off-putting;
what bothered me was that it drew attention away from what was happening on
stage (especially in the final moments of the second act). To W. C Fields’
famous quote – “Never work with animals or children” – might be added: “…or
nude actors. The staging also seemed to disrespect the audience, not by presenting
nudity but assuming that the main character’s thoughts could not be divined
without the help of visual aids.
Friedman also cites another Playhouse production, “Nora,”
Ingmar Bergman’s take on Henrik Ibsen’s “A Doll House,” directed by David
Kennedy. She admits that she did not see the production herself but quotes
another theater critic, Irene Backalenick, that there was “’gratuitous frontal
nudity.’” Well, there was, and it was gratuitous because it was making a
statement that the dramatic thrust of the play simply did not support. It was
an exclamation point where a comma would have sufficed, or, to quote T. S
Eliot, the show should have ended “Not with a bang but a whimper.”
And yet…there have been recent moments of on-stage nudity
that have worked. I will reference two productions up at TheaterWorks: the
first “Take Me Out,” about a pro baseball player coming out of the closet, and
the second, “Tryst,” dealing with a young woman taken in by a murderous con
artist. The staging of the baseball play is an argument both for and against
stage nudity, for there were several moments (a team shower scene the chief
among them) that would have easily fallen under the category of “gratuitous,”
and yet, in the second act, there is another shower scene that absolutely
demands that the two actors be naked, for nakedness (physical, psychological
and emotional) is what this scene is all about. In other words, the dramatic
moment justifies…actually demands…the nudity.
As for “Tryst,” the play was first seen in Connecticut at the Playhouse and then
re-staged (with the same cast) at TheaterWorks. In the final moments of the
play, the young woman who has been (or allowed herself to be) drawn into the
spider’s web woven by a lethal Lothario, is strangled in a bathtub. The
TheaterWorks staging has the actress appear nude before she steps into the tub,
emphasizing her fragility and her willingness to accept whatever is to follow.
The moment is riveting. The nudity enhances the theatrical experience.
The simple fact is, nudity on stage commands, no, demands
attention, and it should be used sparingly. A director should not ask for a
strobe effect when a follow spot will suffice, and a director should also honor
his or her audience’s ability to imagine…what? Well, in the (implied) rape
scene near the end of “A Streetcar Named Desire,” should a director have Stanley
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