Theatre Review: ‘Heisenberg’ at Signature Theatre

Heisenberg | 3 out of 4 Stars | Signature Theatre

By Kyle Osborne

Walking into Signature Theatre’s smaller house, The ARK, you can’t help but notice that there’s a bed in the center of the room…and that you won’t be more than a few rows from it, no matter where you’re sitting. Things already feel quite intimate, and the lights haven’t even gone down yet.

Indeed, this one-act, two person play feels intimate in more ways than one. We are close enough to see every expression, close enough to see the tears in actor Rachel Zampelli’s eyes later in the play–and yet…and yet, these characters are delightfully inscrutable at first. We know there must be more than meets the eye, and we enjoy watching as their layers are shed and re-applied, and shed again.

Photo: Cameron Whitman

It starts on a London train platform. Georgie, an American, played by Zampelli, sneaks up behind Irishman Alex Priest (Michael Russotto) and kisses him on the neck. They are both shocked–because they are strangers! She claims to have mistaken him for someone else, he’s not happy about the invasion, but a conversation starts.

Georgie talks a mile a minute–she’s brash and nosy and joyously profane. He’s reserved and obviously lonely, though he seems comforted by his routine of going on daily walks and running his butcher shop which, truth be told, doesn’t see many customers these days. He’s 75 and she is, well, much, much younger. It’s interesting to note the big age difference (mind the gap!) yet it kind of doesn’t matter-it’s just a fact.

Photo: Cameron Whitman

Except to say that they become lovers (there’s that intimacy thing again) I don’t want to reveal anything else. The whole point is to let their personalities, histories and secrets unfold organically through their conversations. If this were a film, you’d call it a “character study” and it would play in an Art House theatre. I like that about it.

Zampelli is more than up to the challenge of embodying a character who has a lot to say, says a lot, but doesn’t always say enough. It’s so great to see her onstage again.

Photo: Cameron Whitman

Russotto, whose real age I don’t know, but it’s nowhere close to 75, truly lives in his character. There’s not a single “actor-y” thing about his playing an older character with an Irish accent. He simply seems to be the man he’s playing. I realize that’s the point, I’m just saying.

And because it all takes place in that intimate (4th use of the word) space, the characters can speak in their normal voices, pausing naturally between their lines. Director Joe Calarco allows room to breathe, and it’s a choice that enhances the realism of the work. I was sad to say goodbye to these characters at the conclusion of Heisenberg.

Heisenberg continues at Signature Theatre through November 11th. For tickets and more information, please visit: https://www.sigtheatre.org/

Kyle Osborne