Ryan Hudak
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| Halley Feiffer and Hamish Linklater in “The Pain of My Belligerence” – Photo by Joan Marcus |
Belligerence is defined as war – like behavior and in Halley
Feiffer’s new play “The Pain of My Belligerence”, now running at Playwrights
Horizons, this term accurately describes the actions of her characters. Feiffer’s
play examines how this behavior is a result of America’s toxic patriarchal culture, and how it can sometimes lead us right to our downfall.
Feiffer’s new play “The Pain of My Belligerence”, now running at Playwrights
Horizons, this term accurately describes the actions of her characters. Feiffer’s
play examines how this behavior is a result of America’s toxic patriarchal culture, and how it can sometimes lead us right to our downfall.
Cat (Halley Fieffer) is a journalist having dinner with Guy
(Hamish Linklater), whose successful restaurant business was recently profiled
by Cat. The two of them bond, Guy openly pursuing Cat and after he saves her
from a tick, their relationship is sealed. The play then moves through two
scenes, each depicting a time period in the relationship. Scene two finds Cat
and Guy continuing their love affair, even after Cat has become debilitated by
Lyme disease and Guy is still married. Scene three explores the memory of the relationship, years later,
as Cat encounters Guy’s wife Yuki (Vanessa Kai).
(Hamish Linklater), whose successful restaurant business was recently profiled
by Cat. The two of them bond, Guy openly pursuing Cat and after he saves her
from a tick, their relationship is sealed. The play then moves through two
scenes, each depicting a time period in the relationship. Scene two finds Cat
and Guy continuing their love affair, even after Cat has become debilitated by
Lyme disease and Guy is still married. Scene three explores the memory of the relationship, years later,
as Cat encounters Guy’s wife Yuki (Vanessa Kai).
As the play goes on, we watch Cat submit to Guy and Lyme
disease, which is meant to reflect what can occur under patriarchy, but the
story oddly falls flat. We never see Cat before Guy takes hold of her. We never
get a sense of what Cat loses in attaching herself to Guy, she starts the play
off as apologetic and defeating, and only dives deeper into that. One plot point
is literally that she neglected to take the antibiotics that could’ve helped
her with the tick bite, because she was so in love with Guy. In the end, what is supposed to be a moment of
freedom, brought on by Yuki, doesn’t land as it needs to, because we have no
idea who Cat is.
disease, which is meant to reflect what can occur under patriarchy, but the
story oddly falls flat. We never see Cat before Guy takes hold of her. We never
get a sense of what Cat loses in attaching herself to Guy, she starts the play
off as apologetic and defeating, and only dives deeper into that. One plot point
is literally that she neglected to take the antibiotics that could’ve helped
her with the tick bite, because she was so in love with Guy. In the end, what is supposed to be a moment of
freedom, brought on by Yuki, doesn’t land as it needs to, because we have no
idea who Cat is.
I came away with having watched three scenes of an affair,
with a female character that felt defined and dominated by her male lover, and while I get the
point of examining that, it left me cold. That is not to say that this
situation is false, it happens constantly in our society and needs to be
discussed. I just kept feeling that the play’s journey wasn’t there.
with a female character that felt defined and dominated by her male lover, and while I get the
point of examining that, it left me cold. That is not to say that this
situation is false, it happens constantly in our society and needs to be
discussed. I just kept feeling that the play’s journey wasn’t there.
Despite these reservations, the play has been given an
impressive production. Feiffer, Linklater and Kai all give emotionally rich
performances. Feiffer and Linklater have great chemistry that causes the first
scene of the play to build like a rocket launch. Mark Wendland’s scenic design
is a beautiful maze, with impressionistic rooms rolling around wooden catwalks.
Wendland’s design is aided by the great moody lighting of Ben Stanton, leaving
the performers in shadow until the world opens up towards the end. Trip
Cullman’s direction keeps the play flowing through its time periods, and
beautifully brings out Feiffer’s characters.
impressive production. Feiffer, Linklater and Kai all give emotionally rich
performances. Feiffer and Linklater have great chemistry that causes the first
scene of the play to build like a rocket launch. Mark Wendland’s scenic design
is a beautiful maze, with impressionistic rooms rolling around wooden catwalks.
Wendland’s design is aided by the great moody lighting of Ben Stanton, leaving
the performers in shadow until the world opens up towards the end. Trip
Cullman’s direction keeps the play flowing through its time periods, and
beautifully brings out Feiffer’s characters.
Feiffer remains a strong writer and a show at Playwrights
Horizons is well deserved. Her writing digs deep into humanity’s pain and finds
humor even in the darkest situations. It is a tough task to write towards the
current moment, and while this particular play doesn’t reach the heights that
it aspires to, we need playwrights that are willing to examine what is happening
now in our society, especially female playwrights. A new play, even one that is flawed, is something to celebrate.
Horizons is well deserved. Her writing digs deep into humanity’s pain and finds
humor even in the darkest situations. It is a tough task to write towards the
current moment, and while this particular play doesn’t reach the heights that
it aspires to, we need playwrights that are willing to examine what is happening
now in our society, especially female playwrights. A new play, even one that is flawed, is something to celebrate.
Playwrights Horizons presents
The Pain of My Belligerence
By Halley Feiffer
Cast: Halley Feiffer, Vanessa Kai, Hamish Linklater, Keira
Belle Young
Belle Young
Directed by Trip Cullman
Scenic Design by Mark Wendland
Costume Design by Paloma Young
Lighting Design by Ben Stanton
Original Music and Sound Design by Elisheba Ittoop
Now through May 12th
Playwrights Horizons
416 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Ryan Hudak is a playwright, editor, theatermaker and
filmmaker. His play
filmmaker. His play
Robbie Alex Cooper was a semi- finalist for the 2018
National Playwrights
National Playwrights
Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. He is a
graduate of Carnegie
graduate of Carnegie
Mellon School of Drama, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing,
where he studied
where he studied
under Rob Handel. His plays include The West, The
Firewatchers, Young Men in
Firewatchers, Young Men in
The Wet Grass and Ride to Glory. As an actor, Ryan has
worked with Atlantic
worked with Atlantic
Theater Company and Primary Stages in New York, as well as
toured with Re-
toured with Re-
Membering Antigone at Les Fetes Internationales Du Theatre
in Montreal. He
in Montreal. He
has worked on the administrative side of PlayPenn: New Play
Development,
Development,
Keen Company and MCC Theater. He is a graduate of C.W. Post,
Long Island
Long Island
University with a BFA in Acting. He is currently an
Assistant Adjunct Professor at
Assistant Adjunct Professor at
Lehman College in the Bronx.
![Pinterest](https://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=https://ciffed.com/ryan-hudak-on-the-pain-of-my-belligerence-as-presented-by-playwrights-horizons/&media=https://ciffed.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/PainOf.jpeg&description=Summarize this content to 100 words: Halley Feiffer and Hamish Linklater in "The Pain of My Belligerence" - Photo by Joan Marcus Belligerence is defined as war – like behavior and in Halley Feiffer’s new play “The Pain of My Belligerence”, now running at Playwrights Horizons, this term accurately describes the actions of her characters. Feiffer’s play examines how this behavior is a result of America’s toxic patriarchal culture, and how it can sometimes lead us right to our downfall. Cat (Halley Fieffer) is a journalist having dinner with Guy (Hamish Linklater), whose successful restaurant business was recently profiled by Cat. The two of them bond, Guy openly pursuing Cat and after he saves her from a tick, their relationship is sealed. The play then moves through two scenes, each depicting a time period in the relationship. Scene two finds Cat and Guy continuing their love affair, even after Cat has become debilitated by Lyme disease and Guy is still married. Scene three explores the memory of the relationship, years later, as Cat encounters Guy’s wife Yuki (Vanessa Kai). As the play goes on, we watch Cat submit to Guy and Lyme disease, which is meant to reflect what can occur under patriarchy, but the story oddly falls flat. We never see Cat before Guy takes hold of her. We never get a sense of what Cat loses in attaching herself to Guy, she starts the play off as apologetic and defeating, and only dives deeper into that. One plot point is literally that she neglected to take the antibiotics that could’ve helped her with the tick bite, because she was so in love with Guy. In the end, what is supposed to be a moment of freedom, brought on by Yuki, doesn’t land as it needs to, because we have no idea who Cat is. I came away with having watched three scenes of an affair, with a female character that felt defined and dominated by her male lover, and while I get the point of examining that, it left me cold. That is not to say that this situation is false, it happens constantly in our society and needs to be discussed. I just kept feeling that the play’s journey wasn’t there. Despite these reservations, the play has been given an impressive production. Feiffer, Linklater and Kai all give emotionally rich performances. Feiffer and Linklater have great chemistry that causes the first scene of the play to build like a rocket launch. Mark Wendland’s scenic design is a beautiful maze, with impressionistic rooms rolling around wooden catwalks. Wendland’s design is aided by the great moody lighting of Ben Stanton, leaving the performers in shadow until the world opens up towards the end. Trip Cullman’s direction keeps the play flowing through its time periods, and beautifully brings out Feiffer’s characters. Feiffer remains a strong writer and a show at Playwrights Horizons is well deserved. Her writing digs deep into humanity’s pain and finds humor even in the darkest situations. It is a tough task to write towards the current moment, and while this particular play doesn’t reach the heights that it aspires to, we need playwrights that are willing to examine what is happening now in our society, especially female playwrights. A new play, even one that is flawed, is something to celebrate. Playwrights Horizons presents The Pain of My Belligerence By Halley Feiffer Cast: Halley Feiffer, Vanessa Kai, Hamish Linklater, Keira Belle Young Directed by Trip Cullman Scenic Design by Mark Wendland Costume Design by Paloma Young Lighting Design by Ben Stanton Original Music and Sound Design by Elisheba Ittoop Now through May 12th Playwrights Horizons 416 West 42nd Street New York, NY 10036 playwrightshorizons.org Ryan Hudak is a playwright, editor, theatermaker and filmmaker. His play Robbie Alex Cooper was a semi- finalist for the 2018 National Playwrights Conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama, with an MFA in Dramatic Writing, where he studied under Rob Handel. His plays include The West, The Firewatchers, Young Men in The Wet Grass and Ride to Glory. As an actor, Ryan has worked with Atlantic Theater Company and Primary Stages in New York, as well as toured with Re- Membering Antigone at Les Fetes Internationales Du Theatre in Montreal. He has worked on the administrative side of PlayPenn: New Play Development, Keen Company and MCC Theater. He is a graduate of C.W. Post, Long Island University with a BFA in Acting. He is currently an Assistant Adjunct Professor at Lehman College in the Bronx.){kind=link}