Trigger warnings: gaslighting , manipulation, sexual content, domestic abuse, misandry. New Bedford, MA Neil Labute uses his plays to pit the lawfully evil against people so truthfully neutral that they lack personality. The personalities always win.
Meek characters are traumatized. Adam Korey J. Pimental is a student holding down two jobs while pursuing a liberal arts degree at Mercy College. Besser notice the changes.
Evelyn as cunningly played by Lamothe is a modern Dr. Her methods are social pressure and sex. Adam as played by the guileless Pimental is a lamb gleefully prancing his way to the slaughterhouse. What Evelyn lacks is informed consent from Adam. Director Corbett, Lamothe and Pimental deliver the emotionally graphic but physically reserved sex scene with great maturity. The choices the three made in staging the scene respect both the text and the actors involved. The cast has developed their characters into complicated humans but their conversations lack shape, the production lacks arcs.
There is much flow but no build up. He writes deeply flawed characters who bumble onto interpersonal-drama while knowingly making morally compromising choices. That sometimes means employing likability. Finding a compromise between what Labute wants and what the audience wants is tricky. The Shape of Things is a bad psychological trip that may necessitate a stiff drink afterward.
As a staunch intersectional feminist, I find it hilarious that Labute projects the very standards society demands of women onto an unwitting young man. But this is not a funny play. We all want to be loved but love is much more than jumping through hoops to please someone into loving you back. Support your local theatre companies while they develop into their talents. Test your boundaries and learn as they learn.
