'Memorandum' Rises Above Imaginary Language Barrier

Author: Alexandra Hay

"Kavej Hfiz okuby ryzal," was the refrain of the evening the cast of "The Memorandum" rattled off lines in a new, scientifically generated language designed to minimize miscommunication in the workplace.
The Czech artist Vaclav Havel wrote the comedy in 1966, following a long tradition of satirical criticism of the Czechoslovakian government satire.
Upon entering the theater, the set immediately captured attention with its stark walls and the almost painful orderliness of the five desks arranged around the stage. Long, uneven doors ran the entire length of the wall, connecting the immediate stage to a labyrinth of sterile, efficient office spaces that seemed to engulf the entire existence of the characters onstage.
There were rumors of Managing Director Mr. Gross (Ben Correale '03) taking the rubber bank stamp home for his young child to play with, but aside from this unfort sunate incident (and the secretary's daily errands for milk and rolls) no mention of an outside world or family was ever made.
The entire play took place within two identical rooms, and the set remains constant throughout, giving the impression of an endless bureaucratic existence circling through the same space again and again.
The tone of the play is immediately obvious as the play begins with the cleaning women who walk from desk to desk, taking out the garbage and moving it to other trash cans in the office.
From that point on, the performance never dropped its "absurd, ironic" feel and holds the audience delighted and amused if not laughing out loud throughout the entire show.
With deputy director (Christopher Richards '03) persuading Gross to switch places, an endless birthday party offstage in an adjacent office, arguments carried on in the new scientific language and 'the watcher' (Dan Pruksarnukal '03) emerging from a panel in the wall, this parody of office life was never dull.
Choosing a comedy is somewhat of a change for the drama department, which often seems to gravitate towards the more serious plays, and as Alex Rhinehart '05 commented, "after so many dark and depressing plays, it's nice to see something a little lighter."
Most theater-goers shared this opinion, although Nora Williams '06 did point out that the comedy had "dark undertones," while being "very well-acted, and hilarious to watch."
The director of the comedy, Professor of Theatre Richard Romagnoli, chose this particular play because he was drawn to Havel's protagonists, finding them "easy to identify with, because they are actually tied up in knots, unable to act on their principles and completely boxed in while truly concerned about whether they are doing the right thing."
Although written specifically to critique the Czech government in the 60s, Romagnoli said he believed that the play is still relevant because it addresses questions of "humanism and technology."
The only complaint about the play concerned the long running time: after two hours and 15 minutes of performance with a ten minute intermission, audience members left the theatre at 10:30 wondering, "Where has the night gone?"
Near the end of the play the plot began to repeat itself in a cycle that replaced Ms. P with Ms. C and the language "podidapi" with "corukor" (please excuse the phonetic spelling). The message of futility and endlessly running around in circles became over-emphasized and the absurdly comic nature of the play lost its charm of novelty. But that is the fault of the script, not the interpretation, and overall the play was truly enjoyable.