Editor’s note: This review is of the play’s final dress rehearsal.
If Romeo and Juliet were an example of star-crossed lovers, then the characters of “Gruesome Playground Injuries” are pain-crossed.
The play tells the 30-year story of Doug and Kayleen, two childhood friends who are constantly plagued by injuries so severe it’s a wonder they live long enough to realize how they feel about each other.
Doug’s injuries are mainly external, while Kayleen’s are more internal and emotional. For every blown-out eye and broken leg Doug suffers, Kayleen’s uncaring father and drug issues match that intensity.
Between the two of them, almost every part of the human body is brutalized in some way. It’s never explicitly said, but the couple is almost masochistic – it’s not sexual, but the pain they go through and share gives the other an enjoyment of some kind.
Every time Doug is injured, Kayleen asks, “Did it hurt?”
To which Doug responds, “A little.”
Their constant back-and-forth is both endearing and repulsive, but it shows the strong bond formed when people share pain.
Theatre senior Chris Silva does an excellent job of portraying the injury-prone yet brave Doug, flashing between silliness and seriousness with ease. Moments of protection, when he speaks to Kayleen’s father for example, are spine-tingling and highlight his performance.
Opposite him, theatre sophomore Monique McCain plays Kayleen, whose mental instabilities playfully counter Doug’s broken bones. At times she seemed stiff and emotionless – arms straight at her side, fingers playing with each other – and her voice also sounded soft and quiet compared to Silva’s. This may have been a character trait, but it seemed odd during the performance.
But McCain’s monologue while Doug is in a coma is the best moment in the play, and her near-perfect facial expressions combined with running to and from Doug’s bed makes that scene her strongest.
Lighting was good, and scenes were bracketed with effective blackout transitions that made it feel like viewers were really watching the duo’s life flash from their young days to old.
Makeup was superb – Doug’s head gash and Kayleen’s cuts on her thigh looked painfully real.
“Gruesome Playground Injuries” tells an incredibly dark love story that both fascinates and sickens the audience. Don’t expect anything lighthearted from this play, other than the occasional joke by Doug. While this may turn away some viewers, the play is definitely worth a watch, if only to see a different kind of love story.
Grade: B
 
 
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Contact Taylor Balkom at [email protected]