Review: Contents Under Pressure

NoHo Studios, 5215 Lankershim Blvd., NoHo, 213-969-2445

by Jeff Nelson

One of the enduring misconceptions about the AIDS crisis is that the disease strikes only those outside the mainstream—that it will never come near those who lead more conventional lives. Gays, drug addicts, and people labeled as “other” in order to make them seem distant from the pain are somehow not at risk, they just can’t possibly contract the disease. AIDS keeps creeping into the lives of the assumed safe. Contemporary AIDS theatre has continuously worked to dispel this notion. In the past year, NoHo has produced a number of exceptional theatre works, including James Carroll Pickett’s Dept. of Homo Sapiens, Michael Karm’s Myron and Off-Site, the last two providing performances at the NoHo Studios, affirming the importance of AIDS-related work to the NoHo Arts community.

This series continues on a very strong note, with a new piece written and performed by Robert Sheckman. The work concerns a homosexual man witnessing the devastation of AIDS, and the effect this encounter will have on his already grim and pessimistic outlook. The work is precise theatre, and Sheckman’s performance makes it something both to be seen and to be read. Vivid and intense, there are moments in this tale that seem carefully selected from human nature.

Although at times the weight of the subject and the heaviness of the performance are evident, the work is eloquent and thoughtful, and often breathtaking—its power serving as a source of illumination rather than dramatic wisdom. ♦