Masterpieces

Almost three decades after its premiere, British playwright Sarah Daniels' daring dark comedy "Masterpieces" remains pertinent and powerful if occasionally overwrought. In its audacious treatment of controversial sexual themes, Daniels' play might be considered a descendant of Frank Wedekind's once-scandalous 1891 German classic "Spring Awakening," which went unproduced until 1906 because it investigated sexual discovery by children. Both works met with widespread outrage upon their debuts. Daniels casts a lacerating eye on the porn industry, suggesting its potentially devastating effects on individuals and society. Though the script stacks the deck in pushing its hard-hitting thesis a bit relentlessly, director Cinda Jackson's revisit of the seldom-performed 1983 play provides a compelling experience. A skilled ensemble cast adds to the efficacy of the grotesquely provocative piece.

The three married couples at the center of the story first appear in a boisterous restaurant scene. Daniels cuts to the chase in delineating her premise as the hard-partying friends discuss various matters related to pornography. Women's libber Yvonne (Kristina Hayes) bemoans porn's objectification of women, a sentiment that her philandering husband, Ron (Jamie Harris), clearly doesn't want to hear. Trevor (Anton Jarvis) concedes that porn can have negative consequences, though his clueless wife, Rowena (Tatyana Yassukovich), claims complete ignorance of it. Rowena's mother, Jennifer (Constance Forslund), is a quietly submissive wife to Clive (Daniel O'Meara), who is a porn addict. The frequent use of soliloquies in this long scene comes across as dated and cumbersome, yet the characters and themes are solidly established. The action then switches to a trial for a gruesome murder, allowing Daniels to draw a strong parallel between pornography and violence against women.

The script's premise that men are all misogynistic perverts is made none too subtly, and the capable actors playing the three husbands dutifully fulfill the playwright's intentions. Meanwhile, the wives are written as extremely repressed. Yassukovich, Hayes, and Forslund find different shadings to that characteristic, with Yassukovich standing out in the juiciest role as a woman who becomes involved in a spiral of violence.

Though the play's view of controversial social issues sometimes borders on sermonizing, Jackson's solid production offers substantial food for thought.

Presented by and at the Lost Studio, 130 S. La Brea Ave., L.A. Jan. 26–March 3. Thu.–Sat., 8 p.m. (323) 933-6944 or theloststudio@gmail.com.