THEATER REVIEW:Passions, porkers prevail in ‘Pig Farm’

It’s just a guess — I haven’t had a peek at the script — but it would appear that playwright Greg Kotis ended every line in his new play “Pig Farm” with an exclamation point. Even the “good mornings.”

At least that’s the way this ballistic exercise plays out on the stage of South Coast Repertory, where intensity overflows into nastiness and general mayhem. It may be billed as a comedy, but there are two bodies on the floor as the final lights fade.

“Pig Farm” is the latest creation from the author of the musical “Urinetown,” a farcical glimpse of a futuristic society. There’s plenty of farce in this one as well, along with all the mud and blood that’s spread around among the four characters.

Kotis’ sense of the strange and bizarre extends to his choice of character names. All four of the people in “Pig Farm” — as well as the unseen folks outside — have names beginning with “T.” That’s no criticism, not from someone with my moniker — just an observation.

The pig farmer, Tom (Steve Rankin), is working himself into a lather over the impending visit from an Environmental Protection Agency official and hounds his surly hired hand Tim (Brad Fleischer) to get an accurate count of the swine. Meanwhile Tom’s wife, Tina (Blake Lindsley), yearns for a child and may get her wish with or without hubby’s help.

When the EPA man, Teddy (J.D. Cullum), arrives, the bacon really hits the fan as the oinkers run wild (offstage, of course) and serious charges loom. Between the law-breaking and the hanky-panky in the cellar, this pig farm’s about to go to the dogs.

Director Martin Benson pushes the comedic pedal to the metal, and his actors respond with a vengeance, pumping up the volume and leaving all traces of credulity behind. They’re understandably exhausted at the final fade out — as is the audience.

Rankin, who also doubles as fight director, turns in an explosive performance as the farmer, striving passionately to preserve his porkers and clinging to his tiny segment of the American dream. Lindsley, by contrast, is a ravenous creature hell-bent for sexual contact after what appears to be an overlong period of neglect.

Fleischer’s hired hand — on loan from juvenile hall — is a time bomb waiting to explode, which he does as the first act closes. Cullum enacts the pistol-packing EPA official as a seething predator intent on taking Rankin’s place both on the farm and in Lindsley’s bed.

Thomas Buderwitz’s kitchen setting — with its peeling wallpaper, well-worn furniture and pictures of pigs on the stairway wall — is an ideal backdrop for the show’s accelerating comic violence. Julie Keen’s costumes take quite a beating, especially when the big knives come out and the place resembles the last scene of “Hamlet.”

There’s something about the noise made by rooting, snorting pigs that’s quite funny, and even before the lights come up, Tom Cavnar’s sound design will have you chuckling. Christina L. Munich’s lighting effects are stark, matching the flavor of the play itself.

Whether you view “Pig Farm” as comedy or tragedy — or a lively combination of both — it’s a safe bet you haven’t seen anything quite like it. Drop in to South Coast Repertory and pig out.

IF YOU GO:

WHAT: “Pig Farm”

WHERE: South Coast Repertory, Julianne Argyros Stage, 655 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa

WHEN: 7:45 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays and at 2 and 7:45 Saturdays and Sundays until Jan. 28

COST: $20 to $42

CALL: (714) 708-5555