Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Pride at Diversionary Theatre

For Alexi Kaye Campbell's difficult drama, Diversionary imported director Glenn Paris, from Ion Theatre, and three Craig Noel Award-winning actors: Francis Gercke, Jessica John, and Brian Mackey. In spite of its accolades, The Pride's uneven script requires top shelf performances, which this group delivers.

The Pride was Campbell's first produced work. He'd been an actor for years and wrote the play more for actors than audiences. He could shape juicy moments, but not meanings.

In a sense, The Pride divides in two. The long, imitation-Chekhov first act begs for an editor. Then, as if Campbell learned some craft from Act one, the second has shorter, sharper scenes, the dialogue starts to crackle, and his themes come into focus, though not entirely.

Five of the 10 scenes take place in 1958, the others leap to 2008. Three people with the same names - Philip, Sylvia, and Oliver - appear in both years. They may, or may not, be a trio in a time-warp. In each, Oliver is a writer in love with Philip. Their relations compare the status of gay men 50 years apart.

The 1958 Philip is a real estate salesman married to devoted Sylvia. He wages such a war against his inner stirrings for Oliver that he becomes a "prisoner of fear." Philip dead-bolts his "real self" in the closet and will do anything - even aversion therapy - to keep it there.

In 2008, Philip and Oliver are lovers. Philip wants monogamy. But Oliver - be it a preference or sex-addiction - wants casual sex as well. To the disgusted Philip, such promiscuity exiles Oliver from his real self.

In effect, the play contrasts the repressed 50s with, from Philip's viewpoint, the excessive liberation of 2008. A fear of emigrating to genuine being has now become exile from it.

The Diversionary production makes the play feel much richer than its reductive conclusion. Matt Scott's elegant set has a large open circle, on the real wall, that might be a portal through which the characters time-travel five decades.

The leads must speak two British accents: stiff, "up-market" for the 50s, and a looser one, with liberated epithets, for today. The actors excel in both and the vocal differences help signal when a scene takes place.

Francis Gercke and Brian Mackey's detailed portrayals suggest that their Philips and Oliver's may be the same person, altered by different eras (a nature/nurture strand runs throughout). Jessica John's two Sylvia's are extremes: the original's profound sadness contrasts with Sylvia today, who may have the self-pride the others seek.

Dangerfield G. Moore does support work with precision, and his steely Doctor easily qualifies for Creep of the Month.

Designer Trista Roland makes her Diversionary debut with The Pride. Her costumes - especially old Sylvia's wraith-like and new Sylvia's color-wheel apparel - look like her budget was carte blanche.


Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard, University Heights, playing through May 6.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all

Previous article

Big swordfish, big marlin, and big money

Trout opener at Santee Lakes

For Alexi Kaye Campbell's difficult drama, Diversionary imported director Glenn Paris, from Ion Theatre, and three Craig Noel Award-winning actors: Francis Gercke, Jessica John, and Brian Mackey. In spite of its accolades, The Pride's uneven script requires top shelf performances, which this group delivers.

The Pride was Campbell's first produced work. He'd been an actor for years and wrote the play more for actors than audiences. He could shape juicy moments, but not meanings.

In a sense, The Pride divides in two. The long, imitation-Chekhov first act begs for an editor. Then, as if Campbell learned some craft from Act one, the second has shorter, sharper scenes, the dialogue starts to crackle, and his themes come into focus, though not entirely.

Five of the 10 scenes take place in 1958, the others leap to 2008. Three people with the same names - Philip, Sylvia, and Oliver - appear in both years. They may, or may not, be a trio in a time-warp. In each, Oliver is a writer in love with Philip. Their relations compare the status of gay men 50 years apart.

The 1958 Philip is a real estate salesman married to devoted Sylvia. He wages such a war against his inner stirrings for Oliver that he becomes a "prisoner of fear." Philip dead-bolts his "real self" in the closet and will do anything - even aversion therapy - to keep it there.

In 2008, Philip and Oliver are lovers. Philip wants monogamy. But Oliver - be it a preference or sex-addiction - wants casual sex as well. To the disgusted Philip, such promiscuity exiles Oliver from his real self.

In effect, the play contrasts the repressed 50s with, from Philip's viewpoint, the excessive liberation of 2008. A fear of emigrating to genuine being has now become exile from it.

The Diversionary production makes the play feel much richer than its reductive conclusion. Matt Scott's elegant set has a large open circle, on the real wall, that might be a portal through which the characters time-travel five decades.

The leads must speak two British accents: stiff, "up-market" for the 50s, and a looser one, with liberated epithets, for today. The actors excel in both and the vocal differences help signal when a scene takes place.

Francis Gercke and Brian Mackey's detailed portrayals suggest that their Philips and Oliver's may be the same person, altered by different eras (a nature/nurture strand runs throughout). Jessica John's two Sylvia's are extremes: the original's profound sadness contrasts with Sylvia today, who may have the self-pride the others seek.

Dangerfield G. Moore does support work with precision, and his steely Doctor easily qualifies for Creep of the Month.

Designer Trista Roland makes her Diversionary debut with The Pride. Her costumes - especially old Sylvia's wraith-like and new Sylvia's color-wheel apparel - look like her budget was carte blanche.


Diversionary Theatre, 4545 Park Boulevard, University Heights, playing through May 6.

Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Control Freak

Next Article

Shakespeare's R&J at Cygnet Theatre

Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader