Night Sings Its Songs

Tweet

Night Sings Its Songs by Norwegian author Jon Fosse (pronounced FAH-suh), the 2023 Nobel Prize-winning playwright, explores alienation and emotional disconnection by a couple in a dysfunctional marital relationship. Fosse’s works are often compared to those of Henrik Ibsen and Harold Pinter. His minimalist style fits into the Norwegian existential and psychological drama tradition. Fosse is one of the most performed contemporary playwrights globally, but he is not well-known in the United States.

The play, directed by Jerry Heymann from a translation by Sarah Cameron Sunde, never engages the audience in caring about the characters’ emotional struggles. There is a feeling of “so what” or “why should I care” rather than one of concern or empathic understanding.

The story covers the period from the late afternoon to the early morning hours of the next day. It centers on the lack of communication between the Young Man (Kyle Cameron) and the Young Woman (Susan Lynskey). They are a couple who have been together since high school and recently became parents. He is an unemployed writer with a string of rejections from publishers and editors. The Young Woman is on maternity leave from her office job.

The play’s intent is to examine how people fail to perceive the psychological and emotional cues of those closest to them, leading to misunderstanding and dysfunction. It does not succeed in achieving that end. Exposing the frailty of human interaction requires an engagement with the playwright’s words and actions of the performers to make a connection with the audience. When an audience does not connect with the characters, the story is lost, and with it goes whatever message was trying to be expressed.

There are some issues with the ensemble related to the casting. Kyle Cameron is believable as someone clinically depressed, but when Steven Rattazzi appears as his father, there does not appear to be very much difference in their ages. Jenny Allen is solid as the mother and is believable in the role. Susan Lynskey’s characterization is uneven, given the emotional intensity required for the character. Ken King, as Baste, effectively inhabits the role of the Young Woman’s co-worker/boyfriend. He also appears to be much younger than Cameron’s character, which raises questions about the relationship between the two central characters, who have known each other since high school.

The Young Woman opens the play with a long monologue on all that is wrong with her life as a consequence of the Young Man’s behavior. The Young Man is in a depressed state and somewhat disconnected from the reality of the moment. In the ensuing conversation, more details emerge, defining the dysfunction of the couple’s relationship. He is disconnected, depressed, and apparently agoraphobic, and she is overwhelmed with caring for the baby and angry with the Young Man’s failure to acknowledge his inability to contribute to the well-being of the family.

Into this dysfunctional stew, the parents of the Young Man arrive to see their grandchild for the first time. Rattazzi’s Father, a man in his 60s, is emotionally remote. He shakes his son’s hand and, in the course of the conversation following the parent’s arrival, seems indifferent to seeing his grandchild. He acts as if the only reason he is there is because of Mother (Allen), and stopping by was an afterthought. He says, “Well we just thought we’d stop by since we were down in town anyway yeh.” It becomes clear that he doesn’t want to be there when he says, “We won’t be long, just stopping by.”

The Mother is more animated and acts excited about the opportunity to see her first grandchild. Her conversation before and after seeing the sleeping baby is a rambling series of disconnected ideas on how the baby doesn’t look like anyone in the family, why they came to town, and why they can’t stay long. The interaction between the Father and the Mother lacks any emotional intensity. It is a matter-of-fact recitation of thoughts with little or no emotional expression.

The parents leave, and the Young Man and the Young Woman continue their emotionally disconnected conversation until the Young Woman decides she is going to go out with her girlfriend for the evening. Hours later, when she has not returned, the Young Man becomes concerned and keeps going to the window to see if she is returning. Finally, he sees her getting out of a car. When she returns to the apartment, the conversation focuses on where she was and who was in the car. It turns out that she is having an affair with co-worker Baste (Kenneth King) that has been going on for a year. What transpires next is a confusion of emotional interactions, with the Young Woman deciding to leave, calling Baste to come get her, and the Young Man becoming distraught over the apparent ending of the marriage. In the end, the issues explored in the play are left unresolved.

Given the couple’s financial circumstances, Brian Dudkiewicz’s scenic design of a beautifully appointed and expensive apartment seems out of place. The lighting design by Paul Hudson is effective in helping define and move the action on the small stage. Julia Squier’s costume design is appropriate for the characters. The sound design by Jennie Gorn works well in the staging.

Night Sings Its Songs (through March 1, 2025)

New Light Theater Project

Theatre Row, Theatre 1, 410 West 42^nd Street, in Manhattan.

For tickets, visit https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/night-sings-its-songs/

Running time: 75 minutes without an intermission