STAGE REVIEW : ‘Largo Desolato’ Tension Is Almost Unbearable

The first time we see Leopold Nettles in Fullerton College’s production of Vaclav Havel’s “Largo Desolato,” he is approaching the door of his apartment, fearful that the secret police are lurking outside.

Then stage lights darken abruptly. When they come on again, the same scene is repeated, as Nettles seems caught in a cycle of paranoia.

“Largo Desolato” is Havel’s loosely autobiographical drama of the psychological turmoil experienced when the Czechoslovakian government prosecuted him for writing “Charter 77,” one of his more influential human rights documents. Havel eventually was imprisoned and almost died from a neglected case of pneumonia. Once he was released, it is said, Havel wrote “Largo Desolato” in four days.

Havel’s world is very different now: The longtime dissident is the Czech president, the most prominent figure to emerge from the so-called “Velvet Revolution” that ended the communist regime in December. Eastern Europe is playing out its days on a stage of hope. But “Largo Desolato” never leans that way--it’s a drama bent on describing the realities of persecution and the onus of leadership.

In Nettles, we have an archetype, a man thrust into a role he isn’t prepared for. With a penetrating mind and noble intentions, philosophy professor Nettles has been elevated to icon status by the people he writes for, the factory workers and street protesters.

But there are repercussions from his pristine social vision. The secret police shadow him, threatening prison. And his followers pressure him with responsibility, expecting more than he can give. The two dynamics wear him down; he’s just a shuffling step from a breakdown.

Nettles spends his days taking pills and gulping rum in a grim room, waiting for the authorities to take him away. His friends and supporters hover about, some angry over his collapse, others trying to prop him up. When the police offer a way out--if he recants his writings--his followers wait for his response, knowing the damage that can come if he is discredited.

“Largo Desolato” is an almost unbearably claustrophobic drama that seeks power in its pressing closeness. Leopold is smothering and, through April Faine’s direction here, we can sense it. There’s unpleasant tension on the Studio Theatre stage, from Daniel Michelson and Brad Enochs’ depressive lighting and Penny Watson and Steve Crum’s disturbing music to the acting, which evokes a bleakly heightened reality.

You feel the implosion of Eugene Rubenzer as Nettles. The actor indulges in postures, mostly flinches and exaggerated expressions, but he also shows the outward signs of a man turning in on himself. Stylistically, it’s not often natural, but it does help to create a Kafkaesque atmosphere on which Faine seems intent (still, at times you half expect Nettles to be transformed into a giant cockroach).

In one of “Largo Desolato’s” more intriguing scenes, M. James Breslin as Bertram, apparently a lieutenant in the underground, attempts to help Nettles gather himself. There is sympathy, but also manipulation as Bertram realizes that an ineffectual leader is no value at all. Breslin brings a combination of desperation and Machiavellian control to these exchanges that highlights one of the play’s basic concerns.

‘LARGO DESOLATO’

A Fullerton College production of Vaclav Havel’s drama. Directed by April Faine. With Eugene Rubenzer, Denys Gawronski, Lynda Borden, Todd Langwell, Michael J. McKay, Caryn Ronis, M. James Breslin, Michael Garcia, Paul Hagerty and Laura Petersen. Lighting by Daniel Michelson and Brad Enochs. Set by April Faine, Jay Hamacek and Robert R. Jensen. Music composed and performed by Penny Watson and Steve Crum. Plays today to Saturday at 8 p.m., with performance by college interns Sunday at 2 p.m., at the Studio Theatre, 321 E. Chapman Ave., Fullerton. Tickets: $7 to $10. (714) 871-8101.