Courtesy of Gavriel Brown
The Thursday night production of YCDS’s Terra Nova proved a success all around. Although sporting a cast even smaller than 12 Angry Men, Terra Nova became a showcase for some of the finest acting seen to date, demonstrating that quality wins out over quantity.
Named for the ship that carried the expedition, Terra Nova follows the historic story of the race to the South Pole at the dawn of the twentieth century through a British team of four members: Oates, Bowers, Watson, and Evans; and their leader, Robert Scott. The team is racing against a similar Norwegian team, led by Roald Amunsen.
The story is told completely from Robert Scott’s perspective. The opening scene features Scott sitting alone, writing in his journal. The rest of the play becomes a highlights reel of sorts, as Scott’s thoughts and memories are played out. This system, though clever, proved confusing at the beginning of the play, when the story shifts from Scott at the end of his journey to Scott at the beginning of his journey, to Scott’s son and grandson discovering a journal that is written as though speaking to Scott himself. The appearances of Scott’s rival and eventual victor of the race to the South Pole, Roald Amunsen, lend a surreal touch to a plot that already borders on illusory: Amunsen, though representing Scott’s Norwegian competitors, is merely a figment of Scott’s imagination and thus symbolizes Scott’s own war within himself as he questions his means, methods, and eventual moral choices in his team’s journey.
The most difficult part of any Yeshiva play is the female roles. This time, the re-write involved a father and son duo, who stumble across an old diary written by Scott’s wife; their mother and grandmother, respectively. Eitan Horowitz as Peter and Daniel Bodner as his son, Falcon, held their own in the face of this somewhat awkward arrangement, taking turns reading from the diary. Horowitz excelled at playing the son who volleys between admiration for his parents and obvious distress when he hears about himself, while Bodner leant innocence to the role of Falcon that contrasted well. Together, Horowitz and Bodner kept their corner of stage an oasis of post-apocalyptic calm.
Of the actors playing Scott’s expedition team, little can be said on the side of negativity. Newcomers all (with the exception of Adelson), they surprised and impressed with their own brands of emotional breakdowns. Aviran Cohen was the first to show off his acting chops as Evans, who quickly succumbs to frostbite when a cut on his hand goes gangrene. He had the audience’s silent and rapt attention during his fatal mad scene that had him writhing on stage, striking just the right balance between emotional and physical acting. Michael Fridman used his booming voice and take-charge attitude to create the character of Wilson. As the moral compass for his fellows, he gave his character the correct dosages of cheer, diplomacy, and necessary sternness, all while commanding a strong stage presence. Shaya Lazaros as Bowers and Dov Adelson as Oates, arguably the comic relief of the story, played off each other with an almost Abbot and Costello dynamic. These lighthearted characters do an intense tailspin in the final scenes – something even a seasoned actor would find challenging – when both characters find themselves in the midst of a physical and mental breakdown. Oates, who sent this writer into a panic attack when his toe ‘came off’ in his boot, falls in and out of consciousness as Bowers makes a plaintive appeal for death-inducing drugs. Both performances were almost too real and pulled off the difficult feat of making us both laugh and cry.
As chief of set, Natanel Shafier did not disappoint. White-on-white translated surprisingly well with the use of a well-draped sheet and some blue LED lights, although the true creativity of the design shone through (literally) with the dream sequence at the beginning of the second act. Using a special type of screen called a “scrim” which becomes translucent when lit, not much more than silhouettes of the actors could be seen, adding to the dream-like effect. Shafier commented, “The dream was cool. We tried to make it even more surreal by making the table the sled.” Makeup, headed by Stern College’s Rachel Siegel, was subtle yet believable, illustrating visually the travellers’ steady transition from red-cheeked optimists to blackened and frostbitten wanderers.
The most fascinating aspect of the story was the relationship between characters Robert Scott, played by David Khabinsky and Roald Amundsen, played by Yoni Greenberg. At first, Amundsen’s role as antagonist seems clear: he follows Scott on his journey, questioning his methods and mocking his morals. Appearing in increasingly amusing ways, however (Act II: being pulled onstage, lying on the sled like a pasha), he becomes more of a loveable bully than a truly sinister enemy. By the end of the play, Amundsen is almost more of a father figure to Scott than a rival. When Scott is contemplating suicide, it is Amundsen who persuades him to refrain.
Both Khabinsky and Greenberg presented flawless performances. Khabinsky, ever the Johnny Depp of YU, navigated his many scenic transitions with ease. Constantly on stage yet constantly shifting roles, he went from suit-clad explorer to fearless leader and then would hurtle headlong into a five-minute monologue issuing from a conversation with a diary that sends waves of expression washing over his face, leaving the audience in no doubt or confusion as to which side of Robert Scott they were seeing. Greenberg’s role is not nearly as plot-thick, yet just as complex. With a small smirk, he managed to convey the perfect amount of Scandinavian aloofness while his skillful body language more than made up for the absence of lengthy soliloquies. Greenberg and Khabinsky played off each other, creating a riveting dynamic of good vs. evil – the civilized vs. the barbaric.
Yes, this play was morbid. Yes, it may or may not have made this writer cry (at several different points…). The unfailing direction of Lin Snider and director’s assistant, Ariel Meiri, however, steered Terra Nova for triumph and, unlike the ill-fated explorers it portrayed, it hit its mark. First.