'Pentecost' offers entertaining night
Reviewed by Stacey Federoff 
Collegian Staff Writer
A painting has no language or political affiliation, but arguments, motivations and circumstances of people surrounding it often impose these issues on a piece of art.
This held true for the characters in Pentecost.
The play, written by David Edgar and presented by the School of Theatre, opened Friday night and will continue tonight through Thursday at the Playhouse Theatre at 8.
Gabriella Pecs (played by Nika Ericson, graduate-theatre), an art curator native to the Eastern European country where the play takes place, discovers a painting behind a brick wall in an abandoned church. With the help of British art theorist Oliver Davenport (played by Jason Boat, graduate-theatre), Pecs believes the painting could have been painted in the 13th century, predating any similar paintings and making it truly unique.
Clashing religions, politics and cultures make choosing what do with the newly discovered painting extremely difficult. The Catholic and Orthodox churches and the government and American art historian Leo Katz (played by Alano Miller, graduate-theatre) create an international tug of war over the painting.
The country is in political turmoil at the time of the painting's discovery, and the church in which the painting is found is sought as a place of sanctuary by a group of refugees at the same time the fate of the painting is being finalized by Davenport, Katz and Pecs.
The play shifts its focus from intellectual conflict to physical conflict as the refugees take the three art experts hostage. Though they have different backgrounds, the refugees want to have a place to call home, but are stuck in the middle of bureaucratic technicalities that keep them from settling.
From the beginning of the play, the language barrier between the characters speaking English and those speaking other dialects is a tremendous point of contention. Sarcasm and jokes about language help relieve some of the tension in parts of the play, but emotions run high throughout the almost three-hour drama.
The cast does a tremendous job of performing in different languages and accents, varying from character to character. The variety of languages spoken throughout the play is slightly confusing but creates an experience authentic enough for the audience to feel like true witnesses of the action.
As the hostages grapple for their lives, the language and culture barriers become even more apparent than in the beginning of the play. Confusion and misunderstanding of these refugees and their intentions end as the church is taken over forcefully by the government.
The masterfully constructed set, including the interior of the abandoned church where the painting is found, reaches the height of the stage ceiling and transports the audience to the chaotic country even before the actors appear.
The themes and plot of Pentecost are as relevant and true as they were when the play was written in 1995. The Eastern inhabitants criticize the Western way of life and culture, blaming the West for imposing their culture onto the Eastern countries while absorbing none of theirs.
The refugees are a prime example of the thousands of people affected by political and ethnic conflicts that have continued to rage in those Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries today.
Near the end of the play, the theme revolves back to the art and its ability to shed light on the absurdity of those conflicts. An emotional and dramatic ending to Pentecost allows the audience to make connections between the individuals affected by those events, which seem like a distant number to us in the privileged West.
This held true for the characters in Pentecost.
The play, written by David Edgar and presented by the School of Theatre, opened Friday night and will continue tonight through Thursday at the Playhouse Theatre at 8.
Gabriella Pecs (played by Nika Ericson, graduate-theatre), an art curator native to the Eastern European country where the play takes place, discovers a painting behind a brick wall in an abandoned church. With the help of British art theorist Oliver Davenport (played by Jason Boat, graduate-theatre), Pecs believes the painting could have been painted in the 13th century, predating any similar paintings and making it truly unique.
Clashing religions, politics and cultures make choosing what do with the newly discovered painting extremely difficult. The Catholic and Orthodox churches and the government and American art historian Leo Katz (played by Alano Miller, graduate-theatre) create an international tug of war over the painting.
The country is in political turmoil at the time of the painting's discovery, and the church in which the painting is found is sought as a place of sanctuary by a group of refugees at the same time the fate of the painting is being finalized by Davenport, Katz and Pecs.
The play shifts its focus from intellectual conflict to physical conflict as the refugees take the three art experts hostage. Though they have different backgrounds, the refugees want to have a place to call home, but are stuck in the middle of bureaucratic technicalities that keep them from settling.
From the beginning of the play, the language barrier between the characters speaking English and those speaking other dialects is a tremendous point of contention. Sarcasm and jokes about language help relieve some of the tension in parts of the play, but emotions run high throughout the almost three-hour drama.
The cast does a tremendous job of performing in different languages and accents, varying from character to character. The variety of languages spoken throughout the play is slightly confusing but creates an experience authentic enough for the audience to feel like true witnesses of the action.
As the hostages grapple for their lives, the language and culture barriers become even more apparent than in the beginning of the play. Confusion and misunderstanding of these refugees and their intentions end as the church is taken over forcefully by the government.
The masterfully constructed set, including the interior of the abandoned church where the painting is found, reaches the height of the stage ceiling and transports the audience to the chaotic country even before the actors appear.
The themes and plot of Pentecost are as relevant and true as they were when the play was written in 1995. The Eastern inhabitants criticize the Western way of life and culture, blaming the West for imposing their culture onto the Eastern countries while absorbing none of theirs.
The refugees are a prime example of the thousands of people affected by political and ethnic conflicts that have continued to rage in those Eastern European and Middle Eastern countries today.
Near the end of the play, the theme revolves back to the art and its ability to shed light on the absurdity of those conflicts. An emotional and dramatic ending to Pentecost allows the audience to make connections between the individuals affected by those events, which seem like a distant number to us in the privileged West.
