Another Day at the Office

Below the Belt – Hundo4u Productions

Below the Belt is about three men living and working in an unnamed factory in some distant desert. What their job is exactly or what the factory actually makes is never stated, but it’s very important that it be done. A new arrival upsets the seasoned veteran who must now share his room again, and both, whether they want to or not, must jockey for the approval of their boss.

The show was at its most effective in portraying the Kafkaesque absurdity of corporate decision making. The double talk, the suspicion, the simultaneous mix of needing your colleague to do well so you look good but not so good that you look bad – all of that feels very authentic to anyone who has ever worked in a bad office environment. On top of that, the vagueness of the setup contributes to the sense of futility. It’s never really specified what their job is or how they have been doing it or what purpose it serves. The pointlessness makes the sniping worse since it renders the petty politics literally all these characters may have.

Fortunately for the audience, the absurdity is funny as as frequently as it is crushing, often in the same moment, and that’s as much due to the cast as the script. All three actors are individually good. Michael Lomenick as Hamrahan, the grouchy long-time employee who resents newcomer Dobbitt’s arrival, did a very good job layering vulnerability under his abrasiveness and finding the humor in willfully misinterpreting everything Dobbitt does in the worst possible light. I will say that while the three actors each individually did a good job, as a cast, they didn’t quite gel for me. That may be a mix of the fact that characters spend the show at odds with each other and it was opening night, so maybe everything will click into place as the show goes on. I will say, without spoiling anything, the shift in the story that occurs in the final scene was really well done and everything came together there quite nicely.

The show makes good use Redtwist’s shoebox theater, fitting the boss’ office, the sleeping quarters and a bridge over an increasingly polluted river, effectively in the space. Redtwist’s small venue adds to feeling of claustrophobia much more effectively than a traditional theater.

The show is not perfect. Like I said, I think the individual elements while good didn’t quite combine as well as I would like. But the acting is good, the humor largely lands, and the setup is undeniably thought provoking. At one point, standing on the bridge, looking out at a river that is more chemical waste than water, Dobbitt asks if this is really a prison, but by the end, I think the better question is, “Is it hell?” Like Sartre said, hell is other people. In this unnamed factory in this unnamed desert, we can amend that to include “especially if they are your coworkers.”

Recommended

Reviewed by Kevin Curran

Presented May 17-June 16, by Hundo4u Productions at Redtwist Theatre, 1044 W, Bryn Mawr, Chicago.

Tickets are available by calling 773-728-7529 or by going to www.hundo4u.com.

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