Reviewed by Michael Edwards
Sophie Swithinbank's Bacon at the Rogue Machine on Melrose is so brilliantly realized that the story lives with you as a memory lived rather than as a story you've been told.
Directed with specific human passion by Michael Matthews, Bacon tells the story - or more accurately - offer the impressionistic journey of two young men bouncing around in time for the purposes of keenly examining where the line is between attraction, brotherhood, discovery of self and toxic self-centered bullying - back to love and higher understanding.
Wesley Guimaraes and Jack Lancaster deliver 'hungry-for-the-next-heartbeat-next-breath' level of presence with their respective performances. To compliment one over the other would be a sin. The way they listen to each other's mood swings and slightest shift keeps our focus locked in throughout.Scenic & Lighting Design by Stephen Gifford, Sound Design by Chris Moscatiello. Additional production team includes: Christine Cover Ferro (Costume Design), Jen Albert (Fight Choreographer), Joy DeMichelle (Intimacy Director), Tuffet Schmelzle (Dialect Coach), Victoria Hoffman (Casting), Rich Wong (Stage Manager).
Lights and sound (Grant Gerrard and Christopher Moscatiello) had us at their mercy. Never there at times and then in complete control of our senses at others (down to the sweet smell of bacon lofting through the theatre).
A beautifully acted, wonderfully workshopped immersive piece of theatre.
Bacon continues through March 30 on Monday and Friday at 8pm, Saturday and Sunday at 5pm at Rogue Machine in the Matrix Theatre (Henry Murray Stage) located at 7657 Melrose Ave., Los Angeles Ca 90046. Tickets are $45; Seniors: $35; Students with ID: $25. Shows4Less: Fridays February 28 ($20+) and March 7 ($25+).
Reservations:
https://www.roguemachinetheatre.org/
or for more information 855-585-5185.