Reviews

Tuesdays at Tesco's

”Being Shakespeare” actor Simon Callow performs the role of a transgender woman in the English translation of Emmanuel Darley’s play.

Simon Callow stars in Emmanuel Darley's Tuesdays at Tesco's, directed by Simon Stokes, at 59E59 Theaters.
Simon Callow stars in Emmanuel Darley's Tuesdays at Tesco's, directed by Simon Stokes, at 59E59 Theaters.
(© Carol Rosegg)

Sometimes a good story is smothered under the oppressive weight of form. Such is the case with Emmanuel Darley's Tuesdays at Tesco's, now making its North American debut at 59E59 Theaters as part of the annual Brits Off-Broadway Festival. It is very possible that this (sort-of) solo show about shopping and tucking packed more of a punch in its original French (under the title Le Mardi a Monoprix). Unfortunately, the thoughts of many theatergoers will likely wander to their own grocery lists while listening to the soporific English translation by Matthew Hurt and Sarah Vermande. This is in spite of a committed performance by a gifted actor playing an incredibly compelling role.

Pauline (Simon Callow) is an older transgender woman. Since her mother died, she's taken a more active role in caring for her elderly father. They have a regular Tuesday outing to Tesco (a popular supermarket chain in the U.K.) to buy his groceries. Dad is still coming to terms with the loss of his son Paul and the discovery of daughter Pauline. Since Pauline transitioned at a relatively advanced age, she can't really "pass" as a woman, which leads to rude stares from the other shoppers. This makes Dad feel even more embarrassed. They negotiate the terms of this old-new relationship, trying to make the most of their limited time together.

There is rich dramatic potential in the story of a woman who transitioned later in life. Add to this the near-universal experience of caring for an elderly parent and the premise becomes simultaneously exotic and familiar. Unfortunately, Darley has not been able to find theatrical gold in this mine. Some of this has to do with style: The story is presented as Pauline's stream of consciousness, with her narrating observations as they happen. A typical line is, "I am in Tesco's I am queuing in Tesco's. Their eyes looking me over examining me undressing me trying to see to imagine what underneath used to be before I was as I am now and forever more." Callow deftly navigates this punctuation-starved minefield, lending Pauline a luxurious upper-crust diction that contrasts sharply with the working-class growl of her father. You get the sense that the barrier between them goes far beyond gender identity. Amazingly, Callow is able to make this affected syntax feel natural, even indispensable.

Darley's poetic style might have been elevated in a more rigorous production. Sadly, much of director Simon Stokes' staging feel lazy and half-considered. Robin Don's set is an installation that has only a marginal relationship to the action onstage. Pauline never references or activates an upstage frilly pink dress protected by a pane of glass, over which hangs a branching tree bough. Rather than helping the performer tell the story, the set attempts to do all the work on its own with a rather artless symbol: A large white ring encircles the stage, calling to mind a giant vagina with the black rubble of the space's previous occupant littering the floor underneath.

Callow performs the entire play within this massive O, needlessly separated from the audience and any set piece or prop that might aid in his performance. There is another performer in the ring as well: Conor Mitchell sits at an upright piano stage left. He occasionally, albeit tepidly, underscores Pauline's monologue, plunking out a few notes before abandoning the ivories to scribble something on a mess of papers on the top board. It's as if he's incredibly busy composing a magnum opus and can't be bothered by the solo play happening right next to him. What this adds to the story is anyone's guess, but it certainly distracts us from Pauline's monologue on more than one occasion.

As if Pauline didn't have enough trouble passing as a woman, she must suffer the added indignity of Robin Don's dowdy costume design. The rumpled tan skirt and jacket combo looks like it came off the rack at TJ Maxx under a "90% off" sign. The skirt is so tragically wrinkled, one wishes that someone from wardrobe would run an iron over it. This especially feels out of sync with appearance-conscious Pauline, who certainly would have done just that before venturing outdoors.

All of these misfires and neglected details make for a theatrical experience that ranges from frustrating to boring. The show is over in 75 minutes, but it feels a lot longer. This is even more disappointing considering the fact that Darley has written a very real and sympathetic character in Pauline. She deserves a much better outing than Tuesdays at Tesco's.

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