The Epitome of Regret - A Play with an Identity Crisis

Ever heard the following expression: “In trying to please everyone you will please no one"? It applies as much to theatre as it does to life in general. The Epitome of Regret has a lot of potential, but it really does need to figure out what it is. My experience was something like a cross between sketch comedy, satire musical and an off-beat love story, all of which could have been great, but in the confusion it ended up missing all the marks and not being much of anything. All I took away from it were a few clever lines, some nice (if inconsistent) voices and a annoying obsession with sex.

Everything needs to be tighter. Cut the superfluous locations and while you’re at it perhaps some superfluous characters and some of the bad jokes, invest a bit more in character development, some stakes, a story arc and you’ll really have something. If you’re doing satire, go balls to the wall with it. If this is going to be a character-driven story, you will need three-dimensional characters. The acting was technically not bad, but there wasn’t much depth. There wasn’t much time for it! Flitting from one set-up to another, the plot felt more like an elaborate structure for a bunch of punchlines than a story. The internal logic got thrown out the window, stuffing the dialogue with as many crass jokes as possible. The actors seemed nice and they worked hard, but it was hard to care.

The story started off promisingly but it derailed. And then it got on a different track and derailed again. And again. As far as I can tell the crisis point of the play was when an unhappy but seemlingly nice enough girl had a dream to become a better person and then all she really did about it was set up her sister and this guy she fancied who were obviously going to get together sooner or later with or without her help . . . 

If this had been about two unhappy lonely people, that could have worked. If it had been about a neurotic delusional cafe owner, her crazy life and her therapist, that could have worked. If this was about an innocent young man who gave up on the dream, became a rude, arrogant womanizer and found liberation, that could have worked too! Just choose one and write a play. Focus the songs, prune the jokes and you really could have something quite good.

I liked one or two of the songs, the choreography was great, the actors couldn't always find their light, but it was their first time on that stage and there a few first night technical glitches that happen to the best of us.

Last complaint. I don’t really get the title. All I saw was a bunch of trivial angst and a love triangle with no stakes. Not exactly the epitome of regret. Not heart wrenching, gut dropping or even forehead slapping material. I’m just really not sure what the point of all this was. It seems like a waste of some really great resources. That’s regretful I suppose.

As always if you had a contrary experience to this reviewer, your comments on the play are welcome below.