Jesse Eisenberg’s comedy Asuncion opened at the Luella Massey Studio Theatre. It was produced by the SMC Troubadours and directed by Veronika Gribanova.
The play is about Edgar Hirschhorn (James Hyett), a self-styled journalist who lives a socially conscious—perhaps more accurately a socially self-conscious—life on the living room floor of his former TA Vinny’s (Kirk Munroe) unkempt apartment. Vinny is a laidback, weed-smoking guy and could not be more different from the uptight Edgar, but they get along comfortably enough in their academic bohemian lifestyle. Edgar’s supposed superiority in his cultural tolerance and knowledge of international human rights undergoes a rough examination when his stockbroker brother Stuart (Bennett Steinburg) temporarily leaves his newlywed wife Asuncion (Maya Wong), who is from the Philippines, at Vinny and Edgar’s apartment for an emergency stay. As Edgar confronts his poorly-founded conviction that Asuncion is a Cambodian sex slave, the audience is forced to confront the validity of their own social beliefs. The play challenges the white saviour complex and the Western tendency to stereotype and harm under the misguided banner of social consciousness.
Hyett is a master of eliciting at least two emotions: sympathy and cringing discomfort—both are extremely funny. His Edgar seemed to constantly teeter along the line between cutely naïve and awkwardly problematic. Hyett’s a great actor, and shows Edgar’s ability to be both insensitive and overly compassionate. He and Munroe have such chemistry that even their first few interactions clearly portray their yearlong awkward but affectionate rooming experience. Munroe plays Vinny with a rough honesty that makes him likeable despite his callous, womanising character. Some of his final scenes expertly and subtly reveal how Vinny can care deeply for others. Wong plays Asuncion without timidity. Her character transcends Edgar’s stereotypical conception of an oppressed sex slave in need of rescue and her playfulness excellently contrasts with Edgar’s social ineptness. Though Steinburg doesn’t receive many scenes, he pulls off the caring but easily-exasperated Stuart nicely.
The show was funny, and laughs were so frequent and prolonged that it was almost distracting. I laughed too—a lot—but I was also quite uncomfortable at times. I appreciate that part of the purpose of the show is to critique cultural insensitivity, and director Veronika Gribanova handled this difficult material gracefully. But I get the impression that because the play lambasts white people for being culturally insensitive, the play itself, as well as its writer and audience, are somehow supposed to feel superior to the people in the play. This makes Asuncion feel mean-spirited. We laugh at Edgar because we see his flaws, and in the process suppose ourselves to be above that. Watching Edgar makes us feel better about ourselves. Instead of asking whether we might not be just like Edgar, Asuncion portrays him as so childlike that we are distanced from him. In this respect, Eisenberg misses his mark.
