Eros in Thanatos and Down in the Mouth, Dramatist Revolutionary Army, at Wing & Groove Theatre. The second of these two one-acts is too fragmented to work, but at least playwright Dominique Gallo makes a serious effort to communicate. Jaimie-Lee Wise’s direction is sharp and rhythmic, particularly in the comic and largely wordless first half. To the haunting accompaniment of Mr. Music (Fazal Miles), a woman (Ashley Simone) sleepwalks through her day typing random numbers. But her nights are vivid, as she’s haunted by a creature (Gallo, an agile mime with an expressive face) bearing a story of child abuse. Unfortunately, the infusion of words turns the piece into ordinary melodrama, and the script’s confused, conflicting accounts end up being frustrating: words create the expectation of meaning. In any case, the most powerful scene–the woman alternately torturing and caressing the creature, trapped with a bag over its head secured by a belt–is so agonizing that any sound but a scream is beside the point.
