By Logan Meyer, arts & entertainment editor
The concept of a one-person show is nothing new to the world of theatre. Nonetheless, many plays in the category, especially Ronan Noone’s “The Atheist,” which opened Jan. 19, present further innovations. Perhaps most significant is the absence of a fourth wall.
The play tells the story of Augustine Early, an aspiring journalist from a small town in the western U.S. She becomes involved with a woman who lives in a guest house on the grounds of a U.S. senator’s home. Early then discovers a camera, property of the senator, which has been used to invade the privacy of the guest house tenants for years. She uses this information as leverage over the senator in order to secure a position at a publication. Eventually, Early takes her ambitions too far, providing an unforeseen ending.
While the original, first performed in 2006, depicts the story of a male journalist, the new reimaging produced at Boston Playwright’s Theatre features a woman as the protagonist instead. The rest of the story remains unchanged, presenting a slightly less conventional view of gender and sexuality in media.
Early, portrayed by Georgia Lyman, presents a critical reflection of the journalist, one especially poignant in a time when those in power question the reliability and credibility of journalists on a daily basis.
Noone’s set design only compounds such a reflection. Combined with the theatre itself, it manufactures a space which, mentally, seems like both a prison cell and the bedroom of an angsty teenager. The walls of Early’s somewhat loosely constructed apartment display outdated newsprints, haphazardly strewn about amid hastily scrawled statements like “Who needs sources when it’s true” and “We report. You decide.”
To begin her performance, Early scrawls on her chalkboard wall “I want you to get MAD.” More or less, she achieved her goal.
Through these statements, the play’s scrutiny of journalism first comes to light, backed up by Early’s testimony later in the performance. “We report. You decide.” That statement is the journalistic ideal, though somewhat too ambiguous. It is the journalist’s job to vet and fact check each story they print, or at least that’s the opinion of her editor.
Ideally, it should then be the reader’s position to develop an informed opinion after reviewing the presented information. Early continues to lead the reader through, as she said, “overzealous use of the adjective” by painting a sexual assault victim as homely and depressed.
Pines for success and ambition driving her to find fame, Early epitomizes the idea of an unethical journalist, blackmailing a senator to gain unrestricted, exclusive access to stories which will garner headlines. Lyman builds her character accordingly. Along with lighting and costume design, she creates a rather demanding, ’90s-esque grunge persona.
She proceeds to present her story, drink and cigarette in hand, while pacing back and forth across a black and white striped stage, indicating a deliberate crossing of ethical lines. Lyman’s dedication to her profession highlights Early’s disrespect for hers.
“The Atheist” provides innovation in a field receptive to it, and societal consciousness in a political atmosphere which is significantly less open. Lyman will perform her characterization of the ambitious Early until Feb. 5.
Photo by Derek Schuster
