Monkey Wrench Collective Debuts in Grand Guignol Style

There must be something in the water in Fullerton.

The new Monkey Wrench Collective's (MWC) neighboring storefront theatres have all enjoyed success with horror film-influenced productions during the past year (Hunger Artists-Frankenstein in Love; Maverick-Night of the Living Dead, and STAGEStheatre-Borneo Bob).

Now, former Rude Guerrilla Theatre guru Dave Barton decides to launch MWC with a Grand Guignol style production of The Revengers Tragedy, that 1606 English play by Thomas Middleton in which every character except one is done away with by the, ahem, final curtain. (It runs only through April 11.)

Twenty some-odd actors fill the small temporary space in Fullerton's historic brick Ice House, including seasoned veterans and novices, in a production that interprets Middleton's script to be about how absolute power corrupts absolutely--a message Barton wants to be sure we understand applies to our own times as well.

It's an audacious debut for MWC, and I'm particularly interested in seeing their next production, contemporary English dramatist Mark Ravenhill's pool (no water).