OUR SHOCKING HEALTH CARE SYSTEM
Rawshock, a new drama by Rita Lewis which opened last night for a limited run by Manhattan Rep at the Chain Theatre, is set in a psychiatric hospital. As is often the case in this genre of plays and films, the people outside the mental health facility are more disturbed than the ones inside, or equally insane, which is what I was expecting. Produced in a minimalistic key, with only a set of beige hospital cubicle curtains and a stack of chairs, Rawshock concerns the lives of five different patients and a system increasingly incapable of handling their needs.
Jennifer Pierro, Chelsea Clark
Chelsea Clark is Tina, an extremely shy young woman suffering from severe social anxiety with a past in foster care. Clark is impeccable in the role, verbally and physically avoiding being the center of attention, very concerned of embarrassing herself and bothering the others. She cleans a small portion of the window pane obsessively just to calm down. Theresa Della Valle is Katherine, the oldest of the group, a sweetheart with a twisted sense of humor. She seems to suffer from Borderline Personality Disorder, an illness that severely impacts a person’s capability to manage their emotions. Della Valle is credible, intense and amiable in the role. She expresses her fear of abandonment and feelings of worthlessness and insecurity, mixing it with sudden mood swings and quick outbursts of joy or anger.
Christian Libonati, Jennifer Pierro, Camber Carpenter,
Nathan Cusson, Theresa Della Valle, Chelsea Clark
Jennifer Pierro plays a fierce Dana, the warrior in the group. We don’t know her condition, just the symptom: she has auditory verbal hallucinations. Medication helps her improve and she becomes an out-patient, but her progress can only last if she keeps taking it. Christian Libonati is convincing and likable as Richard, a character very similar to Billy Bibbit in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. Bullied as a child by his parents and schoolmates, he has always suffered from severe depression and, to cope with his condition, substance abuse. Drugs led him to a life on the streets, and prostitution, until he landed in this hospital. Nathan Cusson is Alex, the group’s protector, and I think he suffers from Intermittent Explosive Disorder because of his low tolerance for frustration and problems in general. He behaves normal, even charming, until triggered by Richard, his response being completely out of proportion to the words that cause it, and Cusson switches to rage in a second.
Jennifer Pierro, Christian Libonati, Nathan Cusson, Theresa Della Valle
Liz, the group’s therapist, played by Camber Carpenter, helps Richard open up and talk about his past; she also helps Tina with exposure therapy and Alex with his bouts of rage, but she cannot fight the big shameless corporations, represented in the play by Dr. Rosen, played by Dave Silberger, who is equally uncomfortable with the situation but goes with it, like one of Dante Alighieri’s “neutrals” who, in hell, are chased by flies and wasps while forced to run behind a banner.
Jennifer Pierro, Chelsea Clark
The ultimate clash with the insanely greedy corporate world outside feels like a rushed and obvious finale, while the group’s stories are definitely more compelling. Lewis decides to divide the play into different mini sessions, which spoils the flow, making it more of a catalogue of mental conditions than a single story about the group. The interruptions force the actors to get up, pile the chairs and walk off-stage each time, and it makes Ken Wolf’s direction look static, counting only on the actors’ behavioral details.
Stigma, discrimination and prejudice against mental illness and its many victims limit public resources that should be available to them, not to mention for the engagement of psychiatrists, already a rare commodity because they are encouraged to only care for wealthy people. Mr. Wolf, Manhattan Rep’s Artistic Director, states eloquently in the program: “Every day we witness an alarming number of people on the streets struggling with mental health issues, and we can also see it on the rise within our own circles of family, friends, and colleagues. Cut-backs at psychiatric hospitals, combined with increases in mental illness has led to this crisis that we currently see unfolding all around us. According to the State Comptroller, in New York State alone, mental health needs have increased exponentially, with 21.1% of adults suffering from mental Illness and 5.1% suffering with severe mental illness. 1 out of 4 people was a statistic concerning enough for us to want to share Rita’s important play with those who want to better understand a system that’s designed to help but does so less and less.” The system has indeed been failing and this play is here to remind us.
photos by Chris Bentley
Rawshock
Manhattan Rep
Chain Theatre, 312 West 36th St. (4th floor)
ends on November 3, 2024
for tickets ($25), visit Manhattan Rep