Review: Sexual kinks are no substitute for human connection in Erik Patterson's 'F Strangers'
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Set us as preferred “Handjob,” Erik Patterson’s 2019 play at Echo Theater Theatre Company, made good on its title with the help of prosthetics.“F— Strangers,” his new play at Echo, doesn’t up the ante so much as continue to probe what lies behind forbidden desires.
The play, directed by Echo Theater Co.founding artistic director Chris Fields, evokes a modern-day version of Arthur Schnitzler‘s “La Ronde,” only with fewer characters and more tech.
Scene after scene depicts a carousel of intimate encounters.There’s more talk than action, and one person tends to dominate the chat.
Mick (James Tupper), a wealthy married man as rigid as he is deceptive, sets up fantasy scenarios with Dylan (Sean Luc Rogers), a pricey male escort, that he insists be acted precisely according to script.Any slipup threatens to destroy his ardor.Julianne (Tasha Ames), a married massage therapist, basically unloads her entire life onto her client, who lies face down to receive a full-body rubdown.
My muscles were tensing at the torrent of oversharing.I can’t imagine what benefit her customer was getting out of the experience.
Ru (Michael Sturgis), a young man suffering from agoraphobia, spends hours in video sex chat rooms searching for connection rather than sex.He eventually forms a strange relationship with Dylan, who is charmed by Ru’s awkwardness and vulnerability, particularly around sexual matters.
Their meet-cute is more of a meet-annoying, but different strokes for different folks.The play begins in a non-intimate mode, with Ru stranded on the shoulder of the freeway waiting for AAA.
He’s having a fraught phone conversation with his mother, who’s upset to learn that the reason his boyfriend can’t pick him up is that they’ve broken up.When we next encounter Ru, six years have passed and he hasn’t left his...