Snake In The Grass
Leave it to the British to make murder seem as rude as bad table manners. In Sir Alan Ayckbourn’s U.S. premiere of his quiet, little thriller, “Snake in the Grass” at the Matrix Theatre, murder is best served cold, with a dash of deceit and a second helping of ghost stories to keep the plot thickening. Add a crumbling estate, extortion, and some thinly disguised contempt between two estranged sisters that leads to digging up family secrets better left buried, and the night seems ripe for a goosepimply spine chiller. The result, however, leaves one feeling cold and unsated.
Part of the problem with Ayckbourn’s play is its seeming naiveté in the unfolding of events for an audience well schooled and too jaded from forensic TV dramas and daily reports of random violence across the country to swallow this play whole. At its best, Mark Rosenblatt’s production is moody and dark with undertones of spectral horror, but lacking any immediate relevancy. Set across the pond in the UK, the timeless appeal of family intrigue revolving around a sweeping up of evidence comes across as dry as a day old English crumpet and lands as hard as a stone. There is little new here, and the few surprises skim the surface, ending with a final twist that is more comic than creepy.
There is plenty to laugh at, however, in the first act when Annabel (Pamela Salem) discovers her sister Miriam (Claire Jacobs) hastened their overbearing father’s death with extra medication and a bumpy ride down the stairs. A recently discharged nurse, Alice (Nicola Bertram) threatens to go to police with her evidence unless she is paid hush money. Keeping a cool head and her heart medication close by, Annabel delivers droll understatements, “You can’t rub people out, it’s totally illegal,” as if discussing seating arrangements at a dinner party. Miriam waffles as a hapless victim between her bouts of nonchalant premeditation. Annabel characterizes their personalities as “I’m thoughtless and you’re stupid.” This assessment proves to be Annabel’s undoing, as there is more than meets the eye to Miriam, the proverbial snake in the grass.
A less than surprising end is bolstered by some simple observations on human nature. What we assume to be true rarely is. Perception is clouded by the ghosts of the past, never fully exorcised and doomed to repeat itself.
The last little touch of the supernatural detracts from the play’s psychological warfare with its ubiquitous terror and judgment. It’s a mystery why Ayckbourn chose to end on such a melodramatic note, weakening Miriam’s character with such hysteria. It may have been one last attempt to raise some hairs on the audience, but it comes across like a cheap haunted house scare at the end of the attraction.
Pamela Salem is first rate as uptight, recovering alcoholic Annabel and delivers some surprisingly funny moments, and could have delivered more in her scenes with Alice, if Bertram had been able to keep up. Claire Jacobs as Miriam is convincing in the first act of the charade, but less so when the true nature of her character is revealed.
“Snake in the Grass” lacks venom and sidewinding surprises, but it is refreshing to see murder, extortion and calculating schemes executed so civilly.
Matrix Theatre
7657 Melrose Ave.
Runs through Fri, April 4th – Sunday, May 4th
Thurs, Fri, & Sat at 8pm
Sundays at 3pm