If David Lynch read Shakespeare’s Macbeth and said, “I could improve on this,” one might get Marin Shakespeare’s new “Shakespeare-adjacent” play, The Untime. This “echo of Macbeth,” conceived by artistic director Jon Tracy and artistic associate Nick Musleh, marks the first summer show performance at their recently opened Fourth Street venue in San Rafael. The show runs through Aug. 25.
Set in the fictional Commonwealth of Caledonia, a country populated by refugees from wars fought by the Albion Empire, the story starts after the bombing of an entire city to flush out the traitorous General Cawdor. The bombing was ordered not by The King (Steve Price), the youngest son of Albion’s queen, but by a Caledonian general, The One (Michael Torres). The Artist (Nick Musleh), a bombing survivor, and The Spouse (Leontyne Mbele-Mbong), herself a refugee from Albion aggression, do damage control with carefully filmed propaganda.
With the death of Cawdor, The One becomes heir apparent to the throne. However, one more hurdle remains: The King has a daughter, The Heir (Calla Hollinsworth), and her grandmother is clear as to who she wants on the throne.
Like the play it echoes, The Untime plays with the audience’s understanding of time, reality and perception while asking questions about who “deserves” power, an instigator’s share of guilt and what makes one a traitor.
The script is, probably intentionally, unclear about whose eyes we see this play through. While an unreliable narrator can make people question truth, the non-specificity here makes it seem as if the actors themselves don’t know who is telling this story or whose story this is. The play is riddled with this sort of muddiness. From overlong and unearned monologues to a completely unnecessary final scene, the script desperately needs editing. The tragedy is that the show has a strong premise and good bones.
Torres’ oddly erratic pacing for The One does not help the script’s pace. His delivery stymies much-needed momentum.
Yet good work is done here. Price’s King, a fascinating and often funny character, brings much-needed levity. Musleh’s Artist, though slow to get there, does find his grounding, lending the production much-needed humanity. And Mbele-Mbong’s powerhouse of a performance justifies a ticket. Her Spouse—a grounded, sometimes sympathetic and always dangerous presence—keeps the audience engaged. She is the driving force of this production.
Set Designer Randy Wong-Westbrooke’s set, filled with gleaming dark wood, juxtaposes the opulence of the world these people live in with the violence of this world. Madeline Berger’s costuming, which succinctly and clearly imparts power and class, further explores this theme.
The program promises an intermission, but this almost two-hour play has no breaks. That’s a long time for such a cerebral script. Surely even David Lynch would be baffled by this decision for a show which becomes murkier and more claustrophobic with every scene.
Marin Shakespeare Company presents ‘The Untime’ through Aug. 25 at the Center for Performing Arts, Education, and Social Justice at 514 Fourth Street, San Rafael. Thu–Sat, 7:30pm; Sun, 1pm. $15-$40. 415.388.5208. marinshakespeare.org.
Steve Price looking like a pimp daddy mac.