Ixion lets its talent shine in monologue-heavy ‘Mauritius’

Ixion Ensemble Theatre has a distinct ability to find and produce challenging material that offers its company of actors meaty roles. And it is often the first company to get new actors on stage or help actors transition to directors. It is and has been a fertile breeding ground for talent. 

The productions overall can fairly be described as Spartan, with tech support being involved as little as possible and little consideration being paid to creating any sense of entrance into a performance environment or space. It feels like going to see one’s friends in an ad hoc facility, but that fits the tenor and storefront style of the current show, as well as the company in general.

Mauritius, by Theresa Rebeck, is a play about betrayal, familial duty, rip-offs, double crosses and the possible redemption of people as well as stamps. It is a well-structured and well-written show that adheres to the three classical unities of time, place and action. That’s the problem. The more familiar you are with dramatic structure and theory, stock types and character arcs, the faster you will see what is coming dramatically and thematically. 

Even so, the one thing this play promises and delivers on is dynamically interesting scenes populated by recognizable and strongly performed characters who advance the plot through extended monologues. Scene to scene, the tone can shift abruptly, and drama and comedy exist comfortably together.  

To me, the greatest gift of this playwright is the way that important off-stage events are alluded to and yet not discussed, implied but not elaborated upon. That gives the show its most believable and honest moments, even if there are occasional flaws in plot.  

Every character has extended, well-written monologues, and local actors would do well to see this play and read the script, for there is some interesting audition material.

Especially outstanding is lead actress Rose Porter as Jackie, an idealist. Jackie is the voice of reason, walking in and out of scenes that evolve from domestic dramedy to seedy underworld drama to heist caper to romance. Porter grounds her performance with obvious wit, and she manages to stay moment to moment in an occasionally ludicrous plot.  

It would be easy to allow Jackie’s complicated, sassy, sentimental sister, Mary, to fold into a two-dimensional sitcom caricature, but Vahlarée Aidan Kakela brings appropriately varied levels of happiness and pain, tenderness and fierceness to the show. This performer is always a force on stage. 

Samuel Johnson has a nice, breezy quality about his performance as Dennis and retains a certain needed charm, as his character changes the most. This is the star-maker role in this play, and Johnson handles it well. 

As the expert stamp appraiser, Dennis, Logan Natvig is the fulcrum upon which the play is balanced. A broad comedic performance from this character, and the whole show is a situational comedy. A subtle performance with perhaps a lightly threatening undercurrent, and the show is a gritty tale of the streets. Natvig does both very well and is forced to confront the play’s contradictions in his efforts. His strongest moments come from his ability to play being deceptive.

One cannot help but notice the influence of David Mamet in this material. In fact, the more you are willing and able to mentally transpose this play into a shorthand version of “American Buffalo,” the more you will enjoy it. There are even a few gritty F-bombs, so please protect the tender ears.