Go to hell and back with Philalatheis production

Margaret Files Staff Writer

“Hell is other people.” So goes the famous line from Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit, which proves the sentiment to be true with tension, dark humor, and entertainment. In this weekend’s Philaletheis production, directed by Jeff King ’07, “Hell” is also apparently the Gold Parlor.

The play is King’s full-length directorial debut with Philaletheis, and the four-person cast is entirely made up of freshmen. The cast demonstrated a high degree of professionalism and ability to tackle the difficult material in a recent rehersal. No Exit is a one-act play illuminating Sartre’s philosophy of existentialism.

Originally written in French, the play was first perfromed in 1944 at the Vieux-Colombier, amidst the billowing war that engulfed Paris. Sarte composed this play in only two weeks, to comment on how he saw the world.

In essence, we create ourselves, humanity, and morality by the choices we make, which depresses us because the responsibility falls on our shoulders and there is no God to explain or justify our actions. The world is essentially meaningless, chaotic, and sad. Sounds heavy, but it actually makes for good entertainment.

The play begins with Hell’s valet (Aiden Tumas ’08) showing the recently deceased Garcin (Joshua Rottman ’08) into his afterlife, which at first seems tolerable: no flames or thumbscrews here, just an uncomfortably warm and unattractively decorated parlor.

Soon Garcin is joined by two strangers, with whom he will have to share one single windowless room forever, and he starts to discover just what Hell is all about. (Everyone who lived in a freshman triple can nod sympathetically here.)

Garcin’s roommates for all eternity are Estelle (Amanda Bell ’08), a pretty girly-girl who “simply can’t go through all eternity without a looking-glass,” and the venomous Inez (Sara Mason ‘08), a cruel seductress who would really like to become sexually intimate with her roommates. Inez’s initial assumption that Garcin is to be her torturer turns out to be close to the truth—it seems the three are uniquely able to make each other miserable.

The play unfolds in 90-minutes of misery, discomfort, delicious sexual tension, and incriminating revelations of just what they each did to deserve it.

The unusual performance venue of the Gold Parlor was chosen in part for convenience, as it provided a ready-made set for a play taking place in a parlor room. Although ironic, its furnishings mimic the original set for the play.

Additionally King hopes the venue may contribute to the audience feeling that they are trapped in Hell along with the actors.

However, seating will be limited to around 40 audience members, so come early to grab a seat. Performances are March 31, through April 2 at 8 p.m.

As if the play didn’t have enough going for it, with philosophy, misery, sizzling sexual tension, incrimination confessions and audience participation, Stage Manager Christine Moore ’07 points out: “The cast is hot!” Clearly, No Exit promises to be a hell of a good show.