THEATER

Gentlemen Volunteers has become a signature piece for Pig Iron. And how lucky we are it remains in their repertoire. The show—a triumph of ensemble and imagination—must be seen.

Volunteers begins in 1916 at Yale. Rich is a leap-before-he-looks type, brimming with enthusiasm and possibility. Vincent, who writes poetry, is more cerebral. Both men volunteer to serve in the escalating European war (America has not yet officially entered), and are delivered to France, where Rich looks forward to active air combat, while Vince grows more war-weary. Both also fall in love—Rich with British nurse Mary, who reciprocates fully; Vince with French nurse Francoise, who is more tentative (she lost her husband in the recent past). Over the next two years, the war goes on, and the relationships evolve, played out against an unstable world.

Wartime romance is a time-honored tradition. "The war is a bit like a picture show … only it's real," shouts an awestruck Rich at one point. Indeed, it's a theme for which contemporary audiences may expect Steven Spielberg-ian excess.

But Pig Iron has a better idea, and the genius of Volunteers is not in the story but in the telling. In a vast, nearly empty space, the audience follows the action, moving from station to station. There is almost no scenery, and fewer than 10 lighting instruments. Sound design is created naturally, so, for example, flowing water or the clatter of crossfire is supplied by a designer/performer—James Sugg, called here a "one-man band"—who pours from a pitcher or bangs a drum. (Elsewhere, Sugg accompanies himself on the accordion and sings in an evocative, reedy tenor.) In addition to Sugg, there are four other performers—Emmanuelle Delpech-Ramey, Cassandra Friend, Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel and Dito van Reigersberg—who play all the roles.

The resources may be slender, but the magic is rich. War unfolds around us in breathtaking pictures and crosscuts of cinematic speed and precision. From furious combat to the writing and reading of letters to brief stolen personal moments, Volunteers captures the story in deft, unforgettable strokes-- and all that in under 85 minutes. A few mimed gestures, where a character seems to create with a flick of the wrist a door or window, remind us of the actor's ingenuity—but more important, that in wartime, the world's destiny lies in human hands.

Volunteers has been crafted by members of the Pig Iron ensemble (written by Solveig Holum, directed by Dan Rothenberg, and lighting designed by Trey Lyford), all of whose work, like that of the cast, is unbetterable. It's a remarkable achievement on every level.

GENTLEMEN VOLUNTEERS Through Jan. 22, Pig Iron Theatre Co. at the Armory at Drexel University, 33rd and Market sts., 215-627-1883, www.pigiron.org