By Susan Mulford, Boston and Beyond
As part of their 10th anniversary, Flat Earth Theatre presents at the Arsenal Center for the Arts, 321 Arsenal St. in Watertown this darkly absurd comedy. Just in time for election year and amazingly written 20 years ago by Boston based playwright Patrick Gabridge, Blinders is an extremely clever cautionary tale about the dangers of the American political circus and how the populous have narrowed their ability to think. Allowing its self to be brain-washed, clouding over sensibilities by worshiping super-stars, the god of “shopping,” the scientific world and Madison Avenue hype.The world is in awe of a scientific miracle that is introduced to it. Two genetically identical humans are discovered. Having been engineered by.. possibly God??? , They are unrelated but more twin than twins, exactly the same in every way. Performed by Matt Arnold as Chris and Justus Perry as Alex, these actors perform the roles of the duplicate men with perfect loquacious rhythm. No one can or dares to tell them apart. And, as in Hans Christian Andersen’s The Emperor’s New Clothes, where “no one wishes to appear the fool,” no one will admit they see something different in the pair– except for journalist Karen Sayer, (brilliantly performed by Kimberly McClure) whose declaration to the brainwashed public is, “They don’t look anything alike.” This bold statement destroys her career and throws her sanity first into an asylum and then into a total, anarchistic tail spin. The duplicates begin to parlay their commercial success into a burgeoning political power forcing Karen’s quest for truth to take her on an unexpected mission with the aide of some unlikely allies, hunted by even stranger enemies. In a time where the media and the political system are foisting some pretty dismal options for leadership, this laugh-out-loud production may entertain as well as raise the consciousness. Tickets are available at www.flatearththeatre.com/shows/2016/blinders/