Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love, currently at Cygnet Theater under the direction of Sean Murray, is not for theater and literature lightweights. It helps if you have studied Greek and Latin literature along with having a passing knowledge of poet A.E. Housman. If not, Google Housman or come early and take advantage of the study guides. The synopsis included in the program is also a good guide.
Sean Murray's casting and direction illuminate this complex poet in playwright Stoppard's dream play, in which Housman imagines his own death, residing on the river Styx where time and memory can exist with reality. We meet his school chums, Pollard and Jackson. We see the older Housman teaching the younger Housman.
Act One is dense with information on Housman's life. We see him as a brilliant classics student who failed his Oxford exams and becomes a functionary in the Trade Marks office. His feelings for friend Jackson are romantic. In Act Two, the many facets of Housman are brought together. His relationship with Jackson, never consummated, ends (at least as roommates) when Jackson's girlfriend intuits Housman's real feelings. Though he never met Oscar Wilde, who attended Oxford at the same time, he dreams up an encounter.
Wilde, convicted of "gross indecency" (a play about Wilde of that same name was presented by Diversionary in 2003) spent two years of hard labor in prison and died in exile. And this is a mere snapshot of the huge photo album known as The Invention of Love.
Jim Chovick is the elder A. E. Housman, with Sean Cox as the younger. While Chovick and Cox are excellent, the production is a true ensemble affair with a cast of stars in multiple roles. We see Manny Fernandes, David Gallagher, Tristan Poje, Dennis Scott, Tim West, and Tom Stephenson more than once. Amy Biedel, the sole female in the cast, plays Katharine Housman. David Humphrey excels as Moses Jackson, young Housman's romantic interest. Daren Scott's Oscar Wilde is excellent, as is his Bunthorne.
The stage shows a simple dark set of wings with the upstage wall a huge projection screen. The projections bring a vivid reality, within the context of representational art, to each of the many scenes. The mood and dynamics of each scene are controlled by Eric Lotze's moody lighting and an excellent sound track by George Ye. Shulamit Nelson, as we have come to expect in many San Diego theaters, provides a delightful variety of costumes to further define both character and time. Annie Hinton is credited with developing the excellent English dialects.
The Invention of Love is an edgy play, a stretch, which very few theaters would dare to produce. Cygnet, which has taken chances before, is one of those rare few.
