Introducing the first of the short comedies in Happy Hour: Play the Game written by William Patterson and directed by Zach Chamberlaine.

Two men. Two coins. The Game.

After the final meltdown, Harry (Matthew Paines) and Ralph (Abel Parada Millán) play the game in an attempt to take their minds off things while they wait for the markets to reopen (or not). With this basic premise — two men killing time in an indefinite setting – the general atmosphere has shades of both Waiting for Godot and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Short plays don’t have much time for explanation. They generally present us with a vignette that either needs no explanation or leaves the viewer to fill in the blanks. In Play the Game, we are fed a tapas menu of little clues, but are ultimately left to imagine exactly what the final meltdown was, how long Harry and Ralph have been playing the game, and what “the game” really is. Is it just this silly game, or does it allude to a greater and more metaphorical idea?

Decide for yourself by coming to the show!

Read more about Happy Hour – four short comedies

Photo: Zach Chamberlaine