Playwright: Bilal Dardai At: Neo-Futurists, 3153 N. Ashland Ave. Tickets: 1-773-275-5255; www.neofuturists.org; $20. Runs through: Nov. 23
The Neo-Futurists have put together a splendidly funny laugh-out-loud evening about serious subjects: nationhood and nationality. What is a nation? And what makes a person feel he/she belongs to a nation? To explore the subject, the Neo-Futurists create a sovereign state with audience participation. If you've ever said ( and who hasn't? ), "I could run the country better than those bozos in Washington," then The Sovereign Statement is for you.
The premise is launched earnestly as playwright Bilal Dardai explains that he was born and raised in different countries, and thus is "from one nation but not of it" and "of" another nation but not from it. Things quickly turn comic when Dardai summons fellow actor Phil Ridarelli, a gifted and instinctive comedian, and charges him with organizing and governing a micro-nation. Having done his homework, Dardai offers ample evidence of scores of "micro-nations" around the world, phantom vanity kingdoms, empires, autocracies and republics with no legal standing and no defensible territory but with role-playing to spare.
Chairman Ridarelli the Humble of the Autonomous Empire of Neovakia soon engages the audience in a semi-improvised process of setting national priorities, creating a flag and a national motto and negotiating the shifting political sands of his own administrative staff. The audience cleverly is divided into segments, with some exiting the theater proper for other parts of the building, where they participate in espionage, vote-rigging and creating a break-away micro-nation, South Neovakia.
In addition to being audience interactive, The Sovereign Statement also is self-referential as theater, with various cast members repeatedly discussing the script, dramatic structure and whether or not you can change protagonists in the middle of the play. You'll get the idea if you've seen Urinetown the Musical ( FYI, created by two Neo-Futurists ). Also, the six actors use their real names ( vs. character names ).
This is a fast-paced 90-minute or 100-minute piece but, being semi-improvised, it can run long, as it did on opening night, clocking in at nearly two hours. That's more than the premise will support. Also, what's going on in the other rooms isn't as interesting or funny as what Ridarelli is doing on the main stage. The Neo-Futurists need to be aware of the bog-down factor and should find some way to punch up what's happening everywhere. For example, the promised flag never actually is designed and a motto never is adopted. Both of these should be played out.
People don't view the Neo-Futurists as a political theater company, but they certainly are, and their satirical approach to politics includes a keen understanding of history. The Sovereign Statement fits right in as a self-proclaimed "cautionary tale" in which rulers have feet of clay and no nation fulfills its ideals.