Annie Baker's INFINITE LIFE at The Atlantic is filled with interesting and stimulating formal ideas about playwrighting.
But
The story is that six people (5 women and 1 man) are all in the same place because they have chosen a fasting treatment for very difficult and painful conditions like cancer and Lyme disease.
The failure of the play is that for 1 hour and forty-five minutes these different individuals with the same radical decision, never talk about anything in an interesting or engaging way. They don't discuss their treatment choice with any insight, they don't discuss disease and pain with any insight. and they have no interesting and contrasting world views and experiences to share.
The other failure of the play is that one of the women is Black, one is Fillipina, one is lesbian, but none of them have any specificity of experience. The selection is arbitrary and cynical.
The central character is someone - presumably resonating with the author- going through personal sexual dilemmas. But the casting of Christina Kirk, who is a wonderful actress, is not the best choice because she is too buttoned up for the words coming out of her mouth.
This really was a huge disappointment. |
