‘Wounds’ Vivid but Hurt by Its Pretentiousness

A woman in a white slip sprawls over a chair. As she raises her head and applies lipstick, she mutters, “You have a right to makeup.” Then, bitterly, “I cannot reach an agreement with my face.”

So, Howard Barker’s “Wounds to the Face” begins its examination of facial alterations, or wounds, and their effect on the owners. In this staging at the Empire Theater in Santa Ana, the play sprawls as brazenly as the woman in white played by director Frances Hearn.

As a quasi-narrator, she introduces the many mini-vignettes that make up the piece. Some of the personages in the tiny scenes recur later, some disappear completely after their revelations.

There is a soldier whose face is shattered in battle, a prisoner terrified of seeing his face after two years in solitary, and a plastic surgeon who carries a scythe as a metaphor. We see a dictator and his double, and two women who are also doubles. There is a man disfigured by a lover whose wife still thinks him handsome.

Hearn’s direction is vivid and theatrical but frequently suffers from pretentiousness and self-consciousness. It is often larger than life when it would be more effective if it were held back, allowing Barker’s words to make the magic. Too often, we see too much, much like watching a magician slipping a coin up his sleeve and giving away the dramatic trick.

The all-female cast for the most part gives its all to the piece. In some cases, the effort is valid, but all too often the choreographic staging is too busy and too artsy, clouding the intent and the result. One leaves the theater with only a few memorable images.

The Mother of the disfigured soldier (Dana Handler) is impressive in the darkness of her moods and her acceptance of fate, particularly in a later episode as the aging mother mutilates her young lover.

*

The most powerful moment is between an emperor (Hearn again), who hates a portrait painted by a truthful artist (Jesse Miller), and insists on his being blinded for the indiscretion. The restraint and subtlety of Hearn and Miller in this bit stick in memory.

Barker’s script tries to make a very interesting and arresting point about how we see ourselves and how others see us. But as with Hearn’s concept, there is too much stuff in too small a bag to really say what Baker wants to say clearly and effectively.

* “Wounds to the Face,” Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Saturdays, 9:30 p.m.; Sundays, 2:30 p.m. Ends July 25. $10. (714) 547-4688. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes.

With Chidori Asanami, Pascaline Bellegarde, Melenie Freedom Flynn, Dana Handler, Frances Hearn, Elaine Kao, Jesse Miller, Natasha Sherritt and Keri-Anne Telford.

A production of the Cal Arts Women and Company, presented by Rude Guerrilla Theater Company. Produced by Dave Barton, Michelle Fontenot and Don Hess. Director: Frances Hearn. With Chidori Asanami, Pascaline Bellegarde, Melenie Freedom Flynn, Dana Handler, Frances Hearn, Elaine Kao, Jesse Miller, Natasha Sherritt and Keri-Anne Telford. Scenic design: Doug Ridgeway. Lighting design: Margaret S. Tucker. Sound design: Mike Fracassi. Stage manager: Kevin Freeman.