Review: Borrowed ‘House’ stands on its own at Rogue Machine

At Rogue Machine, Donnie Smith is starring in “House” (no relation to the Fox TV doctor), a one-man show written and originally performed by the admired Canadian playwright Daniel MacIvor in 1991. My first thought was, “Why do someone else’s one-man show, Rogue Machine? We all know you could write your own.” Many one-person shows are so dependent on their creators that, like a stand-up comedy routine, no one else should undertake them.

But “House,” at least as performed by Smith and directed by Brian Nitzkin in this West Coast premiere, stands on its own.

The narrator Victor, with his depressing job, bleak memories, miserable marriage and simmering anger — the latter has landed him in “group” — could be any of us. The humiliations he recounts are painfully relatable; they also achieve, at times, the poetic quirkiness and compression of modern parables.

Victor’s biting, darkly humorous monologue feels closer to an audition piece than a play, in that it’s designed to show off a performer’s muscles and range (MacIvor has said that he began writing out of frustration with the parts available to him as an actor) rather than to beguile the audience.

Victor knows he’s in a show, and his attitude toward his “house” (us) is complicated. He thanks us for coming, but then flouts the performer/audience code by meeting our eyes, leaping from the stage to the risers and back again, voicing our anxious thoughts: “Thank God he’s back up there.”

For those who dread audience interaction, it probably sounds stressful, but I never really worried that he would do anything untoward. (Smith’s Victor thinks he’s a lot scarier than he is, and for all his bluster, the fourth wall barely gets scratched.) You can see why Smith was attracted to this role — it would be a plum opportunity for any actor — and also why director Nitzkin pegged him, with his beautiful speaking voice and edgy charisma, to be master of this “House.”

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“House.” Rogue Machine in Theatre/Theater, 5041 W. Pico Blvd., L.A. 10 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Ends Aug. 11. $20. (855) 585-5185 or www.RogueMachineTheatre.com. Running time: 1 hour, 10 minutes.