‘Dreams’ Is a Daring Vision

The noise of gunshots mixes with solemn choral music to produce an eerily enchanting atmosphere during the Charlestown Working Theater’s newest production, “Republic of Dreams: Under the Sign of the Crocodile,” which runs through Oct. 13.

Such distinctive sound design is only one example of the creativity that the play, a pastiche of excerpts from Bruno Schulz’s work, brings to its interpretation of the twentieth-century artist and writer.

Created by the Double Edge Theatre, produced in association with the American Repertory Theatre, and directed by Stacy Klein, “Republic of Dreams” revolves around two of Schulz’s short-story collections: “Sanatorium Under the Sign of the Hourglass” and “Street of Crocodiles.”

Although Schulz appears in the play as a character portrayed by Matthew Glassman, Klein also draws upon actual objects surrounding his life, having come across many of Schulz’s drawings, etchings, and correspondence on a research trip to Poland.

“Republic of Dreams” was largely inspired by the tragic resemblance Klein noticed between concentration camp prisoners who died in the Holocaust and Schulz’s soulful wax mannequin etchings.

The play opens on a traditionally domestic scene in early twentieth-century Eastern Europe. Schulz daubs a gauzy beige cloth with paint, engrossed in his artwork.

In the background, Schulz’s father Jacob (Carlos Uriona) and his mother (Carroll Durand) ponder their simple lives: Uriona slowly consumes a bowl of soup, and Durand looks over a Torah.

Beset with a heavy and apprehensive heart, Schulz upsets the seemingly ordinary scene with a philosophical monologue on time.

As he becomes more and more frantic, a band of folk musicians bursts in and strikes a chord of wild merriment. A fifty-minute rollercoaster ride then takes the viewer flying through a fantastic world of organic self-renewal and disintegration.

Whether he is reciting long monologues or being chased about on stage, Glassman does an excellent job of portraying Schulz’s desperate attachment to his art. Life, fantasy, and reality flow irrepressibly forward through his performance.

Glassman is especially competent at conveying Schulz’s always-active artistic imagination and his delight in every bit of bliss he discovers. The other actors are skillfull as well, and their versatility helps liven the pace of the play.

From fiddling to singing, the music of “Republic of Dreams” is touchingly mellifluous. Jacek Ostaszewski, a world-renowned Polish composer, composed the musical parts for the different actors, which are sensibly reminiscent of Schulz’s past and present. The vocal performance of Hayley Brown as Bianca, Schulz’s love interest, is especially outstanding.

Music Director Brian R. Fairley ’05 oversaw the play’s music direction. Fairley began work on “Republic of Dreams” a year and half ago, and he has succeeded in blending the actors’ instrumentation and vocals with his own piano performance to create an incredibly natural, intimate sound for the play.

Director Klein deftly balances the frenetic action of “Republic of Dreams” with the play’s contrasting moments of serenity. Her skillful use of curtains throughout the production aptly reflects the many layers of the Jewish culture the play references. One remarkably beautiful scene depicts the disrobing of Bianca and Schulz’s family maid, Adela (Jeremy Louise Eaton), behind these airy curtains.

The set and costuming (designed by Carroll Durand) of “Republic of Dreams” is bizarre, grandiose—and successful. The centerpiece of the set, a wardrobe, opens the door to Schulz’s artistic creations; a man in a tutu swings on top of the wardrobe both as a symbol of nature’s creative force and as an emblem of the surreal. The set design serves to underscore Schulz’s artistic free spirit.

The beauty of “Republic of Dreams” ultimately lies in its spontaneity and life, as Schulz uses his art to prevail against the sense of horror that underlies the play. The remarkable originality of the production allows us, too, to take part in Schulz’s strange and powerful fantasies.