Short and Sweet: Sad, Funny and Thoughtful

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Protection for human rights violations is a heavy topic for any Fringe play. There’s a temptation to be preachy. Mostly, the three short plays in Short and Sweet manage to avoid clichés and cardboard stereotypes to deliver engaging performances that are sometimes funny, sometimes sad and always entertaining.

The first play, Possible Lives of Dolores Garcia Rodriguez, tells the story of a poor pregnant woman in a Latin American country where religiously-infused laws prevent doctors from even helping prevent miscarriages, much less carrying out abortions. A photo-journalist tries to intervene for reasons both altruistic and professional. The two women are complete contrasts; one, a desperate and troubled woman with little future; the other, independent and confident, though vulnerable in her own way. A cold and pragmatic doctor who has resigned herself to an unjust system balances out the other two. It’s a complicated, moving tale.

The Apartment is the shortest but perhaps the most powerful play in the series. A woman in the former Yugoslavia returns to her old home after her jealous neighbor has already taken it over. Their dialogue dances around, though their politeness can barely conceal the deep enmity these two have for each other.

In Leave of Absence, a teenage girl in a Catholic school is bullied, manipulated and brutalized by her fellow pupils, former friends and a stern and unsympathetic school administrator. A caring and intelligent priest tries to mitigate the damage. In the process, we get to see a very thoughtful performance asking questions about the nature of God, religious dogma and human nature.

By Jonathon Narvey