Review: Exit, Pursued by a Bear

Review: Exit, Pursued by a Bear  | Shifted Lens Theatre Company | Aurora, CO | Curtain Up! | Gina Robertson

In a dimly lit room, sparsely furnished and decorated with the taxidermized head of a perturbed-looking doe, in a double-wide trailer, perhaps, somewhere in the Georgia countryside, sits a La-Z-Boy recliner surrounded by heaps of thawed venison packages from the freezer and a rotting deer carcass. Duct taped to the chair is Kyle Carter (Aidan Blank), wide-eyed and squealing through the tape covering his mouth. He would appreciate a little help, please.

It’s bear bait and retribution in this revenge comedy by Lauren Gunderson, now playing at The People’s Building in Aurora. The show is produced by Shifted Lens Theatre Company and directed by Tamara Nelson.

Kyle’s wife, Nan (Maria Cina), has had quite enough of his abuse and neglect, and this is how she decided to escape. Luckily, she has her best friends, Sweetheart (Anneliese Farmer-Smith) and Simon (Jysten Atom), to keep her focused.

From left to right: Jysten Atom, Anneliese Farmer-Smith, Maria Cina, Aidan Blank

Together, the three enact some of the abusive scenes from the marriage, showing Kyle why there’s a male loneliness epidemic and why he deserves to be devoured by a bear. When Kyle insists on enacting the good times, the love scenes, as a counterpoint to remind Nan why she married him, she finds worse behavior she’d forgotten about. Her commitment to herself and a new life is only strengthened by his attempts to charm her.

Sweetheart and Simon are the friends many wives wish they’d had when they were young, during their own times of doubt and despair, when they wondered whether life without him might be worth the unthinkable act of leaving him.

Cina’s Nan is sweet, optimistic, and intelligent. She hints at being maybe just unhinged enough to murder while remaining human enough to leave behind a cell phone in case he can free his hands to dial 911 when the bears come. A lover of Jimmy Carter’s wisdom, she approaches life with maturity and hope. She is funny, fierce, and courageous.

Farmer-Smith, as Sweetheart, swaggers about enthusiastically, joining in with Nan’s plan especially for the dramatic opportunity it presents. Torturing a man taped to a recliner appeals to her love of Shakespearean drama, and she is here to make the most of it. She also reminds us why this is necessary, that the bear symbolizing the male-dominated world is ready to eat us alive, and that women, along with queer men, can take back their power and refuse to be dominated.

As Simon, Atom is ferociously loyal to Nan and much less willing to take any of Kyle’s crap than the ladies might be. He is, literally, her cheerleader and her most exuberant defender. As a gay man in the rural South, he knows what it is to be bullied by the deer-poaching, pickup-truck driving country boys who wouldn’t know a Shakespearean quote from a Dairy Queen commercial, and he’s not letting his friend be degraded or deflated if he can stop it.

Finally, Blank is the long-haired redneck country boy Kyle, filled with all the arrogance and confidence of a mediocre white man in the south. In his confused, terrified eyes, we see that his sense of entitlement and lack of empathy make it impossible for him to understand what’s happening. Why is his wife suddenly ready to feed him to the bears in his own home? He blames her terrible liberal friends and confidently assumes he can talk her out of it.

Together, these four have amazing chemistry. They are particularly gifted at comedic timing and at portraying the gentle lilt of the Southern accent.

The intimate seating in the People’s Building theater allows the actors to engage directly with the audience. Tamarra Nelson directed this revenge comedy and clearly had a great time. While the “abused wife has had enough and oh boy wait and see what she’s going to do!” narrative has been well covered in the decades since Thelma & Louise, Nelson’s choices, along with those of the actors, bring the story to a modern day with references to memes, songs, and current events. The purpose of this play is to explain, patiently, again, why women choose the bear. One exception might be the slightly distracting choice to change Simon’s clothes on stage from a cheerleader skirt to track pants without any real reason for it. He looks great in the skirt, but if there’s a need for him to be in pants later, he could easily change off stage without any explanation necessary.

Lighting and sound, designed by Maxwell O’Neill and Aspen McCart, combine to create a spooky, supernatural vibe in which the bear can be felt lurking just outside the door, and we don’t wonder how it might get the door open or why it might eat a man alive when there are piles of venison and honey lying around.  Weird animal swamp sounds and sinister music are well-timed and well-chosen.

Costumes, props, and projection design are by Lexie Lazear and are notable for how seamlessly they merge to tell the story. Matt Rogers and Lexie Lazear have created a set that perfectly recreates the essence of a remote, backwoods hideout.

Stage directions appear on the television screen as Kyle watches the theatrical drama. This is good for a laugh and helps bring the audience into the story.

Exit, Pursued by a Bear runs from January 16 to February 1 at the People’s Building in Aurora.

For Information and tickets: https://www.shiftedlenstheatre.com/