Homosexuality, feminism and questions of race are hardly new themes in modern theater, but plays that honestly examine these subjects and the issues surrounding them are much rarer. Mask and Bauble’s latest production, Cloud 9, by feminist playwright Caryl Churchill, takes an in-depth look at sexual politics, race relations and gender identity.
Set in Victorian British Africa, the play’s first act is built around the theme of oppression. Clive, played by Adam Aguirre (CAS ‘06), is the patriarch of a colonial family who tries to control his wife and children just as the British Empire attempts to control the natives. Aguirre faithfully portrays the character as the self-serving hypocrite that he is, giving an exciting performance.
Clive drives the action in the first act because he so clearly pulls the strings of the other characters. His wife Betty, played with over-the-top drag queen style by Phillipe Bowgen (SFS ‘08), is the sort of subservient, timid woman that a man like Clive would desire. Their daughter Victoria is portrayed by a rag doll to show the complete control her father exercises over her, while her brother Edward is played by Meghan Orie (CAS ‘07) to signify his sexual confusion. Orie comes off as true and innocent, even in her somewhat perverse relationship with Henry Bagley, played by Jojo Ruf (CAS ‘08). Her performance garners sympathy for the son who represses his homosexuality to maintain his father’s love.
Non-family members like Bagley must also conform to Clive’s ideals. To “save” Bagley from homosexuality, Clive has him marry Ellen, Edward’s governess. Also striking is the character of Joshua, the family’s black servant, played by Greg Nelson (COL ‘07), who allows himself to be bullied and bossed around. Unlike the other characters in Act I, he eventually takes a defiant and somewhat shocking stand. His actions, when paired with Nelson’s restrained performance, make for a chilling combination.
Director Anne Popolizio (CAS ‘05) has added to production’s feeling of intimacy by staging it in the round with the audience seated on all four sides. The stage dressing is also kept to a minimum, ensuring that the characters and their problems receive all the focus. This becomes even more valuable in the second act when single actors occupy the stage taking the audience into their confidence.
Those moments help add to the different feel of Act II, which centers on liberation. The scene shifts to present day London, more than 100 years after the first act, though for the characters in the play a mere 25 years have passed. British colonialism is dead, and Churchill has dropped the issue of race relations despite the importance of Joshua and the African setting of Act I. It’s the women’s liberation movement and sexual revolution, not revolts by former colonized populations, that seem to have affected the characters.
Clive, the representative of the old order, makes no appearance, and the characters must take control over their own lives. Victoria, now a real woman, played by Orie, is reconsidering her conventional marriage to Martin, a new character played by Nelson, who seems to be stuck in his role from Act 1.
An important new character, Lin, played by Mary Nagle (CAS ‘05), is the catalyst for much of this change. As a lesbian, Lin helps Victoria explore her sexuality. Later in the play she also provides sexual and emotional relief for the confused Edward, now played by Aguirre. Thanks to great on-stage chemistry, the three exhibit a special bond that brings a kind of realism to the second act that the first never quite achieved.
If Aguirre was the star of the first act, it’s Kerry Gibbons (CAS ‘05) who steals the second as Betty. Although she finds the courage to leave Clive, she still has trouble shaking off his oppressive presence. Betty is the only relic of her generation to make the leap into the second act, and Gibbons lets us know that underneath all that polish there’s a tarnished and battered woman struggling to break free from her past.
Even today, over 25 years after Churchill wrote it, Cloud 9 manages to be both entertaining and thought-provoking. None of the issues have lost their relevance. The play is challenging, defying convention in its narrative, character development and choice of themes, but done as well as it is in the current Mask and Bauble production, it can also be rewarding.
