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Request Programme
Written by Franz Xaver Kroetz
Translated by Katharina Hehn
Directed by Beata Pilch
At Trap Door Theatre
1655 W. Cortland
Chicago, IL
Call 773-384-0494, tickets $15
Thursday, Fridays & Saturdays at 8 PM
Running time is 85 minutes with no intermission
Through July 29, 2006
Request Programme is riveting
Trap Door Theatre specializes in avant guarde, experimental and obscure European plays that are an acquired taste. These highly theatrical works can be weird, challenging and evocative. Some are terrific, some fall flat, but all really stretch the art form and are valid fare. Their latest is a one woman show with no dialogue by the German realist playwright, Franz Xaver Kroetz. He penned Request Programme in 1970.
It is a fascinating work! Imagine a play that holds us, for 85 minutes with only one character and she never speaks! Carolyn Shoemaker delivered a splendid performance where her actions and slightly understated expressions spoke for her. The ‘other character’ here is the extremely realistic set featuring a small one room European studio apartment. A. Joy Shoemaker and Bill Kinney, set designers, didn’t miss anything depicting the small apartment. The devil is in the details here as we see hooks with wipes hanging, place mates for dishes, a hanging bread holder, etc. These well organized items are Shoemaker’s ‘other character. The place is a model for German efficiency and organization. 
We see Miss Rasch (Carolyn Shoemaker) perform her after-work ritual. She opens the mail, airs out the apartment, changes clothing and prepares a light meal while excessively/compulsively dusting everything form window ledges to the top of the TV to kitchen counter tops. We see Rasch occasionally give in to a sad thought as she meticulously goes about her daily routine. She is not only a neat freak but she must have everything in her little world in an exact order—chairs must line up, knives and forks must be exactly in place. Her paranoia is exposed by her compulsion to check each gas stove burner switch every time she touches the stove. She quickly locks and bolts her front door upon entering the apartment. She shivers and leans on the door thankfully as she successfully makes it home.
These detailed rituals fascinate us as we slowly learn that Rasch is a lonely, frightened woman (around 30 years old). When she turns on the radio to hear a request program, she reacts to the mood of the songs. We can only guess since all words and lyrics are in German. As the play move along, we sense Rasch’s pain and her stifling isolation. She can only order and control the details of this tiny apartment. She is filled with guilt and fear of the outside world as evidenced by her reaction to a young girl who wonders by her window singing the same sad German song as heard on the radio. Rasch is shaken and hides on the floor near her clothing chest.
Seldom to we get a glimpse of the private world of a loner. We get hints as to her angst, her desperation and her isolation. Her discipline, sense of order and her compulsive behavior make her an explosion waiting to happen. This fascinating realistic look into the frailty of human nature is riveting. Carolyn Shoemaker is fabulous in this extremely difficult role.
Request Programme is unique theatre, so different, yet so psychological, that it speaks for the multitudes of lonely, lost souls. Kudos to the set designers and to Shoemaker for such a disciplined performance. Less is, indeed, more.
Recommended
Tom Williams
Tom99@chicagocritic.com for comments
Talk Theatre in Chicago podcast
Date Reviewed: June 29, 2006
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