Torn by Love

A force in Canadian theater for a few decades now, playwright Brad Fraser is having his noir theater piece “Unidentified Human Remains and the True Nature of Love” given an impressive staging at Rude Guerrilla’s Empire Theater in Santa Ana.

The 1989 play is a mesmerizing example of Fraser’s work. And under Dave Barton’s taut, insightful and very theatrical direction, this is a piece that truly demands forceful ensemble acting. Voices, words, images crowd in on the ear from a shadowy stage. Figures move to a surrealistic choreography as the action develops. Gradually, the very linear threads of Fraser’s tale begin to weave together into a commanding tapestry of human angst, confusion, terror, romance and dark humor.

The characters, twentysomething misfits in Edmonton, Canada’s middle-of-the-road society, slowly are trying to find themselves, only to lose their way before coming to see their true selves. At the center of the group are David, a homosexual waiter who had brief celebrity on television as an actor, and his roommate Candy, a self-assured young woman who reviews books, and whose loneliness causes her some sexual confusion between an intense young lesbian she meets at her gym, and the hunky male bartender who lusts after her.

Complicating things are David’s best friend, Bernie, who keeps showing up at the apartment dripping with blood, and claiming he has been in another fight; and Kane, David’s 17-year-old busboy friend who worshiped David on-screen and doesn’t know how to handle his feelings in his idol’s presence.

The opening image sets the mood. Randy psychic Benita, a friend of David’s, describes a vicious, pointless murder that leaves a young man decapitated and hanging from a tree. Tales of the recent murders of young women in deserted areas spill from her during the action like Cassandra’s warnings of doom.

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One of Fraser’s points is that, like these murders, people kill their relationships by lying to one another. These characters betray their friendships, warp their relationships and isolate themselves by not viewing life honestly--until life’s truths hit them in the head. They survive despite it all.

The labyrinthian paths their characters take are given gripping reality by the actors. Todd Kulczyk’s coldness, which requires tragedy to really melt, gives notable force to his performance as David, and the vulnerability behind of Kristina Leach’s Candy is heartbreaking as her self-assured walls crumble.

Michael Serna manages the neat trick of being as charming as David sees him, yet shows enough subtle hints to an underlying viciousness to frighten Candy, and often the viewer. Eric Eisenbrey’s naive Kane slowly catches on to the cards life is dealing him in a masterfully crafted change that is impressive.

Candy’s suitors, both serious about her, are played with poignant strength allied to shattering weakness, by Jason Buuck as the macho bartender and Pamela Nicholson as the lesbian. Christy Zollar is intriguing, overpoweringly sensual and deliciously dark as psychic Benita, who unties lots of knots in this little group.

* “Unidentified Human Remains and the Nature of Love,” Empire Theater, 200 N. Broadway, Santa Ana. Thursdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays 2:30 p.m. Ends Sept. 12. $12. (714) 547-4688. Running time: 2 hours, 20 minutes.

Jason Buuck: Robert

Eric Eisenbrey: Kane

Todd Kulczyk: David

Kristina Leach: Candy

Pamela Nicholson: Jerri

Michael Serna: Bernie

Christy Zollar: Benita

A Rude Guerrilla Theatre Company production of Brad Fraser’s drama. Produced by Don Hess, Michelle Fontenot and Dave Barton. Direction/scenic design: Dave Barton. Lighting design: Don Hess.