Satirizing the pain: 3 reasons Why Torture works

Some words and phrases are so loaded that when spoken aloud they evoke instant fist-clench reactions: abortion, capital punishment, and Dane Cook, to name a few. “Torture” is another, and that’s why putting on a show with torture as the centerpiece is a sticky proposition—especially if it's a comedy. Forward Theater Company’s first full production, Why Torture Is Wrong And The People Who Love Them, makes it work despite any preconceived notions the word might dredge up. After enjoying a critically lauded extended New York run this spring, Christopher Durang’s play will make its Midwestern premiere when it opens on Wednesday, Dec. 30 at the Overture Center Playhouse. The A.V. Club spoke with director Jennifer Uphoff Gray to find out why exactly Why Torture works.

Absurdism on top of absurdism
Why Torture opens with a woman named Felicity waking up in a hotel room sleeping next a man she doesn’t recognize, and suspects of being a terrorist. Oh, and they’re also inexplicably married. In an attempt to unravel the mystery, Felicity does what pretty much no one would do in the same situation: takes her new beau home to meet the parents. Uphoff Gray says that because torture is such a hot-button issue, adding layers upon layers of absurdism helps make the weighty issues raised more palatable. It’s a topic with which heavy-handed messaging doesn’t work. “One of the torturers has the code name ‘Loony Toons,’" Uphoff Gray explains, "because he’s only capable of speaking in cartoon voices. He says, ‘Bweak the fingew.’”

Remove the abstractions
It may seem counterintuitive for raising comfort levels, but there’s a fair amount of torture and stage blood in full view during the course of the production. This actually softens the violence by not letting the audience stew on what may or may not be happening elsewhere. If Durang had chosen for it all to take place offstage, it'd be a whole lot scarier. The audience sees it, then it’s gone. Also, the pace and laughs are so frenetic there’s little time for in-show rumination. “The New York production had a revolving set, which we obviously can’t do,” Uphoff Gray says. “But we’ve come up with some fun and creative solutions to preserve the crazy pace.”

Anger is cathartic
Regardless of which side of the red state/blue state argument anyone falls on, we all tend to share similar levels of seething anger when thinking about the current political climate. One side wants to throw their remotes at the television every time they see Barack Obama, the other, Glenn Beck. The commonality comes from the release. Why Torture isn’t a Bush-bashing play per se. Rather, it takes a broad look at the role violence plays in both American and Middle Eastern societies. “We think people are going to want to discuss the show, so we’re having talk-backs after every performance,” Uphoff Gray says. “In some cases it will be me and certain cast members, in others it’ll be torture and international relations experts from UW-Madison.”