Review: “17c”

Combining dance, drama and video art, the new show by Big Dance Theater reads a 17th century diary, some tendencies of which are scarily recognizable in the modern world.

A seventeenth century English man, Samuel Pepys, although a successful administrator in the navy and a member of parliament, is mostly known for his diary, which he kept from 1660 until 1669. Writing in it nearly every day, he doesn’t hold back as he talks mostly about his everyday life. I wonder if his choice of subject matter and tone would change if he anticipated a public reading from the stage of Brooklyn Academy of Music three centuries later? Would he feel at home in a modern culture heavily influenced by social media? Deservingly, Big Dance Theater calls him a predecessor of the Instagrammers, in their new show, 17c.   

Elizabeth DeMent in 17c, photo by Bylan Douglas

“Up, I bless God being now in pretty good condition, but cannot come to make natural stools yet; and going to enjoy my wife this morning, I had a very great pain in the end of my yard when my yard was stiff…” This excerpt form Pepys’ diary, voiced by Cynthia Hopkins in a curly 17-th century wig and shiny blue pants, ignites a little stand up comedy routine in the beginning of the show. Microphone in one hand and book in the other, Hopkins encourages audience members to shout out synonyms for penis. But even when pretending to be vulgar, 17c never misses the mark and stays witty, charming and intelligent.   

Sam’s diary became an inspiration and base of the multi-media piece. Three performers: Cynthia Hopkins, Aaron Mattocks, and Paul Lazar (also a co-director), alternate in playing the author. Leafing through the pages of busy life of the 17th century dandy, they evoke his obsession with garments, theater, dance lessons, bowel movements, mistresses and so on. The man talks about himself so much, they need three actors to deliver the lines. Jokes aside, multiple actors represent Sam’s “split” personality, not clinically but morally. On the one hand, he strives to become a better man, on the other, he cheats on his wife Elizabeth and gets violent with her.

Elizabeth DeMent portrays young Ms. Pepys, fourteen years old at the time of marriage. She is mostly voiceless throughout the piece and expresses herself through beautiful dance numbers (co-directed and choreographed by Annie-B Parson). Parson is inventive in her ways of representing the speech of an oppressed woman. Elisabeth’s lines pop on the screen as title cards in one scene. In another she speaks in a different person’s voice as if she is possessed and is doomed to repeat what men say. She is given a beautiful, poetic monologue towards the end of the play, a fantasy of what her diary would read if her husband didn’t destroy it.  

Parson introduces other female voices in 17c, counterbalancing the misogynistic egocentrism of the main character. There is a play within a play, The Covent of Pleasure, which spouses read. Written by Margaret Cavendish (Kourtney Rutherford) in 1668, it tells a story about a community of women, who chose to live without men. It’s a pity that Sam (Cynthia Hopkins) asks Beth to skip through most of it. He doesn’t enjoy it, annoyed at the two female characters together, and only accepts the play when learning that one female character was actually a man in drag. Interesting fact: the ending was written by the playwright’s husband – another woman silenced. Two feminist vloggers, commenting on the passages from the diary from time to time, represent the liberated women of modernity. But even they are robbed of freedom of speech, once their platform is literally taken from beneath their feet.

The seamless blend of dance, text, music and video is a signature style of Big Dance Theater. Combining different media seems appropriate for the show, which interweaves the 17th and 21st centuries. With props and costumes visible on the wings, actors quickly transform into different characters. The costumes by Oana Botez are impeccable and full of self-irony. She uses recognizable historical wardrobe elements as a starting point, and makes them into futuristic sci-fi garments with an addition of modern day clothes. Playful and inventive, designs by Botez are in perfect unison with the directors’ vision.

What struck me the most was not the pink sweatshirt with kittens, or shiny, layered skirts. It was the plain sweater and pants worn by Paul Lazar playing Samuel Pepys, sharing his sexual adventures that I found exceptionally on point. Sitting in a recliner by an electric fireplace, Lazar delivers the longest monologue in the play; a series of diary entries about sleeping with the housemaid. The casual way in which Pepys writes about abusing his power is perfectly mismatched by the cozy setting. Lazar occasionally adds an anachronistic line or two to the original text of the diary, making us forget in which century we are now. 

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17c played at BAM's Harvey Theater, 651 Fulton st, Brooklyn, November 14-18, 2017. The running time is 1 hour and 10 minutes with no intermission. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 7:30. Tickets are $30-$60. For more information visit bam.org.

17c is conceived and choreographed by Annie-B Parson. Produced by Big Dance Theater. Directed by Annie-B Parson and Paul Lazar. Sound Design by Tei Blow. Set design by Joanne Howard. Lighting design by Joe Levasseur. Costume design by Oana Botez. Video design by Jeff Larson.

The cast is Elizabeth DeMent, Cynthia Hopkins, Paul Lazar, Aaron Mattocks, and Kourtney Rutherford.