There’s Method in ‘Delirium’s’ Madness

In 2024, the Arlekin Players Theatre, a company that began as an ensemble of Boston-based immigrants from countries in the former Soviet Union, presented the New York premiere of “Our Class,” a play following a group of Polish students, half Catholic and half Jewish, through a local massacre targeting the latter religion during World War II, then tracing their lives into the following decades.That production, which earned acclaim over two runs off-Broadway, was directed by Arlekin’s founder, Igor Golyak, who as both a Jew and a native of Ukraine has had much cause to ponder the ravages of war and bigotry in recent years. For his latest project, Mr. Golyak has adapted an older work by an iconic playwright: “Frenzy for Two, or More,” Eugène Ionesco’s 1962 account of a couple too absorbed in their own petty arguing to notice that a much more profound conflict is destroying the world outside.Few scenarios could be riper for Ionesco’s trademark absurdism, and with the droll but haunting “Delirium,” as the new adaptation is titled, Mr. Golyak adroitly mines the humor of the original work as well as its social and political import, which could hardly be timelier.Now running at Brooklyn’s The Space at Irondale, “Delirium” features a single couple, played by Andrey Burkovskiy and Chulpan Khamatova, both Russian-born and alumni of “Our Class.” Neither is identified by name — they’re referred to in the script simply as He and She — but we learn early on that both were married before they became lovers; their dialogue begins with She lamenting that her husband was “ten times better,” a complaint she will echo in numerous variations.Before that, though, Mr. Golyak and his performers introduce the visual antics that will continue throughout the staging, which leans heavily on physical comedy. Scenic and props designers Jan Pappelbaum and Cecilia Xuetong Feng have fashioned a sort of apocalyptic love nest, surrounding the players with metal scaffolding that will become increasingly shaky and littered with debris. There’s also a prominent fish tank, which will figure into the shenanigans.Mr. Burkovskiy enters carrying a door, his suit covered in dust, coughing up more of it as he roams about, at one point bouncing on a pile of mattresses from which Ms. Khamatova will emerge, costumed (by a whimsical Sasha Ageeva) in purple tights, a glittering overalls skirt and a puffy blonde wig. As Denis Zabiyaka’s sound design simulates gunfire and grenades blasting, they bicker away, only getting distracted when their buzzer rings and they hear shouting and commotion on the stairs just outside.As the war keeps encroaching, though, He and She are moved to look past their grievances, at least intermittently, and are drawn closer together. The atmosphere grows warmer and more lyrical as they imagine escape, then yet more frantic, and eventually defiant, as harsh reality continues to intrude.Mr. Burkovskiy and Ms. Khamatova are funny, charming, and touching during what are sure to be exhausting performances for both, requiring them to jump, climb, haul mattresses around, and dance with sometimes maniacal enthusiasm. Towards the end, they even get to simulate astronauts, taking a trip to the moon, then visiting the sun for good measure.It’s an enchanting segment, but also a sobering one, reinforcing the sense of anguish that drives He and She to seek refuge from an embattled earth. It’s not hard to relate to their desperation, even for those of us fortunate enough not to live in a war zone; however brightly “Delirium” twinkles and tickles, it ultimately stings as well.

There’s Method in ‘Delirium’s’ Madness

There’s Method in ‘Delirium’s’ Madness

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