Come For the Pinter, Stay for the Palimpsest

Ashes to Ashes – Citizens Relief  and Palimpsest Exhibition at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art

By Lazlo Collins

Sometimes the search for a great two-for-one may be a struggle. Well search no more! Currently at The Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, you get a great Harold Pinter show and an amazing collection of art. The play and the art are thematically linked together for a great one-of-a-kind experience.

Teaming up with Citizen’s Relief Intuit presents the Chicago Premiere of Harold Pinter’s Ashes to Ashes in the  their cozy theater space. This taut, 50 minute play is a successful exploration of silences and revealed secrets. A couple appear. Devlin, the husband, stands pensively, Rebecca,the wife, is seated nearby uncomfortably. He stares, the floors creek, and she moves uncomfortable. The banter is purposeful and demanding. We are voyeurs to an intriguing and sometimes slow, glib, exchange between this couple. The discoveries of erotic domination and the revelation of a past that is nearly too painful to reveal. This deliberately staged production, slowly reveals Rebecca’s distant ghosts of the past. The conversation is explosive. She is a survivor.

Mike Driscoll as Devlin and Simone Jubyna as Rebecca are superb in these difficult roles. In this most intense piece, it is evident why is not a widely piece. It takes actors of this caliber to transform this piece to the audience. There deliberate and nuanced performances were outstanding. Their familiarity is eerie and comforting at the same time.

In concert with this exceptional theater piece, is the Palimpsest art exhibition. The works of Betty Zakoian are featured. Ms. Zakoian’s art reflex her journey as child escaping Armenian genocide.  She was left behind during an exodus having to fend for herself. Her self-portraits are haunting, as well as her take on Madonna and Child. She is a survivor.

Intuit is treasure of art and wonder. It is a center of provocative thought and talent. Take in this evening of meaningful art and theater.

Highly Recommended

Ashes to Ashes continues to run Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 4 p.m. through Sept. 20. at Intuit: The Center for Intuitive and Outsider Art, 756 N Milwaukee. For tickets call 312-243-9088 or go to art.org.

Additional information about this and other area productions can be found by visitingwww.theatreinchicago.com.