➤ SHIPWRECK, from p.28 ➤ DATING AMBER, from p.27
die invites Amber over to meet his
parents, he tells her to “wear something
girly.”
She retorts, “I will if you won’t!”
But their relationship is strongest
when they sneak off to Dublin
and go to a gay bar, where Amber
meets Sarah (Lauryn Canny), a
possible girlfriend. Another night
in the city, at a gay club, Eddie has
his fi rst kiss with a lad.
Freyne truthfully depicts teenage
sexuality — gay and straight—
in his poignant fi lm.
“It’s not going to be explicit, but
it’s important that we don’t shy
away from experiences,” he explained.
“We see Eddie kissing another
guy, and Amber having sex,
and bad hand jobs. They exist for
teenagers. We saw the sweetness
and warmth of those fi rst queer
experiences. They can be scary,
but they are lovely and sweet. Eddie’s
has a great fi rst kiss and Amber
has a lovely fi rst time. It’s really
quite beautiful.”
As for the fi lmmaker’s own experience
visiting a gay bar, he recalled,
“It was really frightening. I
wasn’t out. I was 16. I was going
with someone who was gay, but I
wasn’t. It was scary. I was petrifi ed
of being seen by someone I knew.
It wasn’t until later that I had the
experience of fi nding my community.”
What “Dating Amber” does best
is show the importance of community
for LGBTQ youth. Freyne
wisely tells parallel stories of a
young lesbian and a young gay
man bonding to fi nd the strength
they need as they struggle with
coming out, particularly in the
Irish countryside.
“I’m in awe of people who stayed
in the country and come out,”
Freyne said. “They make the
changes, not the queer kids who
moved to the big city.”
He added, “ I’m guilty that I
didn’t do that, but you have to fi nd
your own path. This fi lm is a love
letter to those who came out and
stayed.”
DATING AMBER | Directed by
David Freyne | Samuel Goldwyn
Pictures | Begins streaming Nov. 13
| samuelgoldwynfi lms.com/datingamber
ed about in Nelson’s plays comes in
response to what is going on in the
culture politically and economically.
Nelson, however, assumes
his audiences come into the theater
with at least some knowledge
of what’s going on outside. Rather
than wasting time rehashing the
headlines, he shows the depth to
which the world is affecting his
characters.
One can certainly argue that
Washburn and Nelson are stylistically
different, have different
intentions, and that preference
for one over the other is a matter
of personal taste. Yet where Nelson’s
characters gathered in their
kitchens are deeply human and inspire
an empathetic response, one
wishes the people in Washburn’s
farmhouse would just shut up —
or at least say something original.
We get to know intimately who Nelson’s
people are. Washburn’s are
just garden-variety talking heads.
The cast for “Shipwreck” is a collection
of favorite theater people,
including Raúl Esparza, Jeremy
Shamos, Mia Barron, Richard Topol,
and Phillip James Brannon,
all of whom give detailed performances,
particularly Joe Morton
as James Comey in the surreal
scenes. Director and adaptor Saheem
Ali was clearly intent on
transforming this play into a new
medium, but that medium simply
doesn’t serve the play. Unlike The
Public’s podcast of “Richard II” earlier
this year, which had language
and scope to carry it, this more intimate
piece is undermined in its
transformation.
What does this piece add to our
insights and discourse, and why
now? Perhaps with a little time
and distance, The Public will be
able to stage this live. It would
likely clarify the dynamics and the
world of the play, and it would be
intriguing to revisit this material
again when satire may land more
pointedly in a world — it is to be
hoped — transformed.
SHIPWRECK | Podcast from The
Public Theater | Streaming free on
demand at publictheater.org/productions/
season/fall-2020/shipwreck
| Two hrs., 45 mins., in three
parts, with additional commentary
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