Jan. 22 was the opening night of local playwright Megan Piercey Monafu’s play, A Little Fire at Arts Court Theatre. Starring William Beddoe, Emily Bozik, Johnny Wideman and Carol Sinclair, the play focuses on 16-year-old Aithne (Bozik), a gifted and deeply devout young artist who paints the visions she receives from God.
Suddenly, the visions stop, and with that so does Aithne’s desire to paint. Her father (portrayed by Beddoe with a subtly discomforting performance) is a struggling writer and apathetic father who’s annoyed with his teenage daughter for suddenly stopping their steady (and only) stream of income through selling her paintings.
Bozik’s portrayal of a wide-eyed Aithne was well done, if not overly sweet at times. But she did capture the innocent—and at times, startlingly pessimistic—spirit of the artist with a quiet confidence that was carried throughout her performance.
After a tragic accident, Aithne is arrested and ends up in jail where she winds up sharing a cell with Roy (Wideman) a down-on-his-luck, heavily-intoxicated twenty-something. The two swap stories in the cell, and through a series of deftly acted flashbacks, they slowly reveal their pasts and inner selves, to both each other and the audience.
Wideman was particularly excellent as Roy. His performance felt tangible, and his absence was felt whenever he was not on stage. He was believable with every line he spoke, especially when his character was intoxicated, a state that can often be very difficult to convey accurately to an audience.
The set was small, but the actors used the space to its full capacity and created new environments through the smart use of props and music cues. Its size forced audience members to use their imaginations to fill in the blanks, which wasn’t a difficult task thanks to Piercey Monafu’s visually rich script.
In the space of a few seconds, the altar of a church was suddenly transformed to a bar in the middle of a crowded club. Transitions like these were seamless, and bled into one another effortlessly due to Piercey Monafu’s writing and direction.
With a cast of only four, Beddoe and Sinclair spread their talents amongst a variety of characters, exiting the stage as one character and entering as another, oftentimes with a minimal or nonexistent costume change. The actors made it effortless for the audience to follow along. Sinclair gave a powerful performance as Jem, a homeless woman who is befriended by Aithne.
The play is all about the characters making decisions in their lives. Every decision that was made throughout the play impacted others or had some form of consequence for the character. With Aithne and Roy stuck at a standstill, the play focuses on their past mistakes, and how they will decide their futures.
A Little Fire is a thought-provoking piece of theatre. Featuring strong performances from the entire cast, it leaves the audience wondering and analyzing long after the lights have dimmed.
It runs from Jan. 22 to 30 at the Arts Court Theatre, with tickets selling between $20 to $25 each.
