- OTHER MEDIA
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- Naught But Pirates
reviewed by J Jordan, www.nytheatre.com
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- I must advise right off the bat that while at least one pirate (depending
on how you define the word) appears in this play, there is absolutely no
swashbuckling. Nor does Naught But Pirates, written by and starring the
engaging Sean Owens, include any of the normal pirate accoutrements: no
swords, no parrot… no peg leg. In addition, the aforementioned pirate,
subtly named Black Dick, is portrayed very differently than I expected.
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- The play is divided into three parts, each told from the perspective
of a character closely involved with Black Dick. Owens makes the transition
between the three characters seamlessly, and it is enjoyable to watch him
sink into each of these meaty roles. The first character is a misanthropic
and obscure writer who claims to be the authority on Black Dick despite
the joke that the audience, and probably most of the world, knows little
if anything about this writer or his subject. At first soliloquizing about
his attempts to essentially "become" the legendary pirate, down
to wearing the same velvet jacket and the same gold vest, the plot quickly
thickens when it turns out the writer is not addressing the audience but
rather his captive, a would-be rock star claiming or at least longing to
be the descendent of Black Dick's first mate.
- The rock star carries a dark secret he plans to share, thereby ruining
the writer's reputation and blowing the tightly-sealed lid off our perceptions
of piracy in general. Said secret can be found in an obscure manuscript
known as "Naught But Pirates" (hence the title of the show).
Eventually the captor becomes the captive as the rock star turns multiple
tables on the writer.
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- The third character is good ole' Black Dick himself. Owens's pirate
is charming and refined, despite advising us that he recently bit off someone's
ear. Of the three characters, Dick is the one I'd most likely invite out
for a drink. Dick essentially confirms the authenticity of the rock star's
secret and does a little table-turning himself as he plots to escape prison
and execution, leaving the audience to speculate about his death and question
even further the writer's version of Black Dick's legacy.
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- Although tagged as a comedy, Naught But Pirates is essentially a drama.
While listening to the writer go on about himself is very funny, the rock
star's ulterior motives and Black Dick's heartfelt commentary take the
piece in entirely different directions. The piece is extremely well written
and superbly acted, which to me made up for the lack of swords, parrots
and peg legs. The director, Kenny Shults, seems comfortable with providing
Owens with basic staging and letting him sail with his impulses, a perfect
sentiment given this is a one-man show. This is not to discredit Shults—in
fact, it demonstrates a level of trust and professionalism.
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- The score, provided by Don Seaver, works much in the same way. His
music sets the mood for the tale and each of its characters without being
intrusive or directing our attention away from it.
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