R.U.R.: Rossum’s Universal Robots
By Karel Capek
Adapted & Directed by Dale Moon
Produced by Lakeside Community Theatre
Audience Rating: PG - highly stylized depictions of violence, mild language
Run Time: 2 hours 15 min, including one 15 min intermission
Accessible Seating: Available
Hearing Devices: Not Available
Sensory Friendly Performance: Not Available
Production Sound Level: Comfortable Volume
Noises or Visuals to Prepare For: Gunshots
Reviewed by Jenny Wood
R.U.R. is a story of the Robot Revolution told in three acts and presented with one intermission by Lakeside Community Theatre.
Set in an indeterminate year, perhaps the near future, R.U.R. is an acronym for “Rossum’s Universal Robot’s” – a brand of humanoid robots developed initially by a Dr. Rossum, and evolved to peak performance by subsequent generations.
We open on a day when the President’s Daughter has come to visit the remote island on which these robots are exclusively manufactured.
The first image of the show is of secretary and typist Sulla (Bailey Lund) executing instructions provided by a disembodied voice. Lund immediately establishes the humanoid aspect of the robot race with grounded intentional movement, excellent vocal control, and long unnerving stares between blinks.
Her efforts are well met by others in the robot cohort - particularly Zeke Fable’s Marius and Aaron J Schultz’s Radius. Together with the preternatural soundtrack designed by Lindy Englander, these three featured characters carry an eerie Twilight Zone era undercurrent through the show.
The humans, in contrast, are living in a melodrama. This haunting opening bit is followed by rapid fire exposition of the robots’ evolution – presented in a sort of "Animaniacs" style educational montage of narration by factory staff: Drs. Gall and Hallmeier (Bethany Brown and Sunnie Saenz), business advisors Fabry (Omar Valdez Rocha) and Busman (Bart Cowser), and a wisened engineer named Alquist (Paul Niles).
As company manager Harry Domin, David J. Wallis is bold and forceful, steamrolling over the concerns of both Alquist and Helena Glory - the aforementioned President’s Daughter played with a light naivete and sincere concern by Sara Parisa - to effectuate his pursuit of exponential company growth and Helena’s hand in marriage.
As often happens in these sorts of stories, Dr. Gall eventually deviates from Domin’s orders and, at the behest of Helena, experiments with giving their robot’s more human affect, and the remainder of the show depicts the outcome of their choices.
Rachel Velasco has created a fantastic, multi-layered set designed to transform between two primary locales. An elaborate laboratory looms on the stage right third of the space, supporting the unearthly demeanor of the robots.
Every corner of the set references the factory logo, and this branding carries over into Kristen Moore’s costume design, and as the robots evolve, for some the placement of a logo is our only indication of “species”... an elegant restatement of the overarching theme.
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