1984

Empty Space Theatre

Through Feb 28.
While the Bush administration has brought Big Brother back to life, Empty Space Theatre's revival/adaptation of Orwell's novel, however, is not directly about current affairs, as the posters advertising it might imply. Directed by Allison Narver, the play attempts to capture the mood and atmosphere of the novel, which is set in London. The result is several successes and one apparent failure. Numbered in the successes: the strong performance by the lead, David Pichette; the extensive and often ingenious utilization of video technology and live monitoring devices; and the adaptation by Wayne Rawley, which, as far as I can tell, is faithful to Orwell's intentions. The primary failure is the set--it's too modern or clinical for the grimy London described in the book. Then again, I could be confusing the London in Orwell's Keep the Aspidistra Flying with the one in 1984; but, certainly, the set for this adaptation would have worked better with an adaptation of Yevgeny Zamyatin's We--an author and novel that the Bush administration is unlikely to save from oblivion. CHARLES MUDEDE

Beauty & Martyrdom (and other stories)

Lehua Dance Theatre at Bainbridge Performing Arts

Through Feb 6.
Artists working in isolation tend to head off in wildly unique directions--or grow comfortable in a conventional vocabulary because there's nothing pushing them beyond it. While Bainbridge Island isn't exactly cut off from the rest of the world, choreographer Rain Ross and Lehua Dance Theatre have taken bits of ballet and modern dance and stayed within their familiar parameters. Beauty & Martyrdom has some pretty images and the dancers are certainly earnest, but too little is surprising or individual enough to gain a foothold on a spectator's thoughts or emotions. BRET FETZER King Lear

Seattle Shakespeare Company at Center House Theatre

Through Feb 15.
A hurdle for any production of King Lear--Shakespeare's exploration of narcissism, mortality, and really bad judgment--is Lear's madness. The aged King Lear seeks to relinquish responsibilities to his daughters but maintain his authority; when he is stripped of all power, he both goes mad and becomes impervious to empathy. You can pity him, but you can't actually share in his emotions, as those emotions have torn loose from their human foundations. Furthermore, in Shakespeare's day, madness provided a kind of spectacle, the verbal equivalent of explosions in modern action movies. Contemporary audiences find such wordplay opaque (the only people who relish it are actors and academics).

In Lear, Shakespeare goes all out and offers two madmen (one real, one pretend) and a logic-twisting Fool on top of that. Director John Langs makes the effective choice of turning Lear's Fool (played by the dependable Charles Leggett), normally a court jester, into an imaginary friend. Rather than undercutting the full onset of insanity to come, this conceit draws us inside Lear's head, making his later rantings a deepening of something we've already experienced.

This wouldn't work without a capable Lear; fortunately, Kurt Beattie is excellent, even thrilling at times. The rest of the cast is uneven, but standouts include Nick O'Donnell, A. Bryan Humphrey, and Benjamin Huber (as a particularly odious flunky). The pile-up of bodies at the end is more ridiculous than moving, but that's the play. BRET FETZER

Vilna's Got a Golem

ArtsWest Playhouse

Through Feb 7.
This high-spirited play-within-a-play follows a turn-of-the-century Jewish troupe as its members premiere their subversive new drama before the unforgiving gaze of the Czar's official censor. Bad news is, their show is based on the folktale of the Golem, a shuffling mud-man brought to life by the darkest arts to wreak bloody vengeance against Christians. Good news is, the censor doesn't speak Yiddish, and the resourceful troupe is happy to offer the services of its less-than-accurate interpreter.

When this production is at its best, it cuts to this dark truth with a very funny knife. There is a fine accordionist (Patricia Spaeth), a few good songs, and plenty of good-natured slapstick--but there are too many moments when the cast cannot keep all the spinning plates aloft. Tighter choreography and brisker pacing from director Walter Baker would have helped. This production isn't flawless, but more evenings at the theater should involve this much chutzpah and heart. TAMARA PARIS