Endgame

Before the play begins, the audience faces an image that resembles a René Magritte painting. A formless background of white clouds against blue sky is projected into the drawn curtain. When the curtain is pulled back, we see the familiar, iconic set of Samuel Beckett’s Endgame. A sheeted object rests center stage. Two more sheeted objects rest off to the side. Sand rests in piles on the floor. A large, cylindrical steel wall stands with two high porthole windows stands above the set. Todd Rosenthal’s set is well-crafted and everything is almost eerily, perfectly in place besides the painted-on stains and filth on the set walls.

In the role of Clov, a servant who cannot sit down, Milwaukee Rep Resident Actor Lee E. Ernst exhibits considerable talent for bringing subtlety to his somewhat pathetic character. He walks with an awful trudge. Everything from the precise peculiarity of Clov’s laugh to his unique way of climbing a ladder is breathtakingly idiosyncratic. The physical aspect of Ernst’s performance is especially indispensable at the beginning of the play when the character speaks no dialogue, busily drawing the sheets off two ashbins and his elderly charge Hamm, played by Mark Corkins.

He resonates deeply in this role. The character’s pompous egocentrism, breathing through Corkins, echoes over an infinite abyss of monotony at the end of the world. Corkins and Ernst craft a brilliantly dark comedy, tempered with just the right amount of drama. Endgame is easily the single most powerful production The Rep has staged this season.

Adding contrast to Corkins and Ernst are Torrey Hanson and Laura Gordon in the roles of Nagg and Nell. Gordon’s performance is the nadir of human emotion — a minimalist symphony. Hanson is hauntingly stark, rumbling along in the semi-death of Hamm’s father until it comes time to tell the joke. Hanson’s delivery of the joke provides a perfect counterpoint to the rest of the production.

Endgame has been described as a staged dramatic poem for four actors. There’s a gentle rhythm and percussion moving through the characters that can be played with endless subtle variations. These four very talented and seasoned Rep actors create an impressive spoken word quartet, aided by Ernst’s talent for physical performance. For those in the right state of mind for the comedy of misery, this production is sheer pleasure from beginning to end.

The Milwaukee Rep’s production of Endgame runs now through April 20 at the Stiemke Theater. For more information call the Rep box office at 414-224-9490 or visit the Rep online.