last night i went to see (obie-winning playwright and actor) wallace shawn’s one-man play “the fever.” it’s a gritty work that is more stream of consciousness than prose. loved it. could identify with shawn’s thoughts about the close connection between rich and poor and the part we choose to play in order to live with our complicity and guilt. it was an aspie works production starring roger gans.
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The nameless narrator of this blistering monologue lies ill and alone in a dreary hotel room in a poverty-stricken country. A political execution is about to take place beneath his window. Far from the glib comforts of his own life, he struggles with memories and his own conscience, which are challenged by the misery and poverty he sees. ‘The Fever’ was first performed at the Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1991.
Wallace Shawn, Reading, Part 1, 15 December 1999 from Lannan Foundation on Vimeo.