ARTS . Arts Picks

Chekhov Lizardbrain

March 28-April 15, The Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St.


	print	email	reply	rss feed

Published: Mar 20, 2007

Theater

(CLICK IMAGE FOR LARGER VERSION)

Ever felt like different parts of your mind were vying against one another for your attention? Well, then you're cued in to the vibe of Pig Iron Theatre's Chekhov Lizardbrain. The play is inspired by triune brain theory, which purports that we have not one, but three brains, each with its own intelligence and impulses. "It's a circus of consciousness," says director Dan Rothenberg. The basic premise — if such could ever be said of a Pig Iron production — concerns a main character who wants to sort out a psychological problem. Soon, "The whole stage becomes the head, the brain," says Rothenberg, "and the whole structure is as unruly as one's thoughts are when they are interrupted by urges, desires, memories and confusion." The title nods to Chekhov's second profession: The playwright was also a doctor, his plays often involving characters that "attempted to take a scientific approach to what life is all about," says Rothenberg. Featuring Dito Van Reigersberg, Quinn Bauriedel, Geoff Sobelle and James Sugg, the theatrical firepower here is intense. "There are some remarkable physical transformations as people move into these brain states," raves Rothenberg. "Like all Pig Iron acting, its psychology is the body and the body is psychology."

March 28-April 15, $20-$30, The Latvian Society, 531 N. Seventh St., 215-627-1883, www.pigiron.org.