‘Knacker’s ABC’ Mixes Absurdism, Game Cast

Faster than a speeding water balloon. More anarchic than a chimpanzee in a centrifuge. Written shortly after World War II, “The Knacker’s ABC,” Boris Vian’s absurdist antiwar romp, now at the Open Fist Theatre, is a fascinating early exercise in slapstick absurdism--a Keystone Cops one-reeler as written by Ionesco.

Vian, a French playwright, jazz musician and all-purpose gadfly, lapsed into relative obscurity after his early death of a heart ailment. Penned only two years after the French liberation, “The Knacker’s ABC” poked fun not only at German soldiers, but also at American GIs and even the heroes of the French Resistance. Such egalitarian mockery must have seemed blasphemous at the time. Now, it’s hard to understand why this protracted vaudeville sketch caused such a fuss. Too thematically slight to justify all the high-decibel frenzy, the play nonetheless achieves moments of high hilarity in director Ron West’s lively staging.

Set in a provincial French village, the action centers on the rustic and malodorous home of the local knacker (Bart Tangredi), who makes a living slaughtering horses and cutting them up for dog food. The Germans have occupied the village for the past four years, but American forces are massing on the outskirts of town. Chaos reigns. Shattering explosions regularly rock the foundations, and various troops of all nationalities storm through the premises with farcical frequency. Meanwhile, the knacker’s family is also massing for the wedding of eldest daughter Marie (hilarious Amy Christine Grant). Marie is marrying a German, but the randy women of this household will take on any comers, no matter their nationality.

A frontal assault is the only logical approach to this difficult material. Into Vian’s blitzkrieg of silliness, West’s intrepid performers sally bravely forth, with no holds barred. Not all survive, but their struggle is valiant, and the production’s technical elements--Dan Reed’s lighting, Peter Carlstadt’s sound, Usha Chohan’s costumes and Aaron Harper’s set--are absolutely first rate.

* “The Knacker’s ABC,” Open Fist Theatre, 1625 N. La Brea Ave., Hollywood. Fridays and Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m. $15. Ends Feb. 24. (323) 882-6912. Running time: 1 hour, 35 minutes.