THEATER REVIEW

Tom Titus

The real and the unreal, historical figures and fictional creations,

the rough world of reality and the intriguing possibility of spiritual

existence are blended in a maelstrom of emotional torment in “Nostalgia,’

a world premiere on the Second Stage of South Coast Repertory.

Playwright Lucinda Coxon delves into mystic Welsh folklore to concoct

a story that may be as puzzling to her audiences as the Welsh dialect

itself in this impassioned account of three fictional characters and

their encounter with the very real Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Setting things

straight here would test the deductive powers of Doyle’s famed creation,

Sherlock Holmes.

While the play itself, set in 1919 in the hardscrabble countryside of

Wales, may be a piecemeal irritant, its cast -- under the focused

direction of Juliette Carrillo -- is uniformly superb. Much like SCR’s

current Mainstage offering, Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming,” the power

of the performances overshadows the material with which the actors must

work.

The central figures are two quarrelsome brothers, left to tend their

farm by the deaths of their parents. The younger sibling covets a strange

woman across the river, the daughter of a village “sin eater,” who is

something of an outcast.

Into their lives comes Doyle, an imposing, larger-than-life figure

seeking a spiritual connection to his son, killed in World War I,

following reports of a perplexing contact via a seance. This sets into

motion a series of quasi-related incidents that ultimately fail to

accomplish a resolution, though they stir the emotions fervently.

Of the highly skilled foursome, Daniel Blinkoff registers highest on

the interpretive scale as the impassioned younger man at odds with his

elder brother (Michael James Reed) and anxious to start a new life with

the shunned young woman (Susannah Schulman). Blinkoff tears into his role

with a vengeance, particularly in his conflict with Reed, in a seethingly

effective performance.

Schulman offers an aura of mystery and intrigue as the sin eater’s

daughter -- even her character’s name is a puzzlement, listed as “Buddug”

but referred to vocally as “Biddig.” She stands as an independent figure

whose willingness to join with Blinkoff’s character runs hot and cold,

much like the play itself.

Reed demonstrates little depth or variety as the older brother, yet

exudes strength and authority. His character also is conflicted, and

whether he honestly cares for his younger brother or resents him is never

adequately established.

The showiest performance of “Nostalgia” is Drake’s erudite author

Doyle, torn between his natural sense of rationality and a desperate hope

that he may indeed contact his dead son and learn the nature of the young

man’s “forgiveness” of him. Drake excels as the noted wordsmith

delivering a public lecture on spiritualism, and he presents a riveting

account of a panic-stricken dream.

The rustic setting by Myunghee Cho, in which a practical pond

approximates a divisive river, is well set against a background of earth

and mud. Alex Jaeger’s costumes work well for the period and the

circumstances, while John Martin’s lighting effects further convey the

mystical theme.

“Nostalgia” may fall short of total satisfaction as a newborn play,

but Carrillo’s production offers exceptionally strong interpretations by

a quartet of highly accomplished actors, which make the evening

ultimately worthwhile.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Thursdays and Saturdays.

FYI

* WHAT: “Nostalgia”

* WHERE: South Coast Repertory Second Stage, 655 Town Center Drive,

Costa Mesa

* WHEN: 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, with 2 p.m. matinees

Saturday and Sunday, until Dec. 2

* COST: $27-$51

* PHONE: (714) 708-5555