Stage Review - Unrivaled (SIS / SPT)
Stage Review - Unrivaled
Presented By: SIS Productions & Seattle Public Theatre - Seattle, WA
Show Run: May 10 - June 02, 2024
Date Reviewed: Thursday, May 16, 2024
Reviewed By: Greg Heilman
If there’s one thing that remains largely consistent throughout the ages, it’s the nature of relationships. I would imagine that even in the beginning of ourselves as a species, some of us were close, some distant, some who once were close probably split due to an implied competition or misunderstanding. These characterizations of relationships are played out through all of our media outlets, from music, to books, and even in those five main plots that Hallmark builds its successful film franchises on. The fact that the Hallmark movies are so popular, and why we continue to be fascinated by the human relationship is likely that it’s the one thing we all have in common. Sure, there are those who keep to themselves, but at some point we’ve all had relationships, with parents, siblings, significant others, co-workers, or minor acquaintances. So, whether we’re talking about a modern story, or to pick a completely random time period, 11th Century Japan, our issues are the same. Of course I didn’t pick 11th Century Japan out as a random time period, rather it’s the setting for Unrivaled, Rosie Narasaki’s play, on stage at Seattle Public Theatre (SPT) in a co-production with SIS Productions and directed by Mimi Katano.
Unrivaled runs through June 2 on the Seattle Public Theatre stage and tells the story of Empress Teishi of Japan and two of her ladies in waiting Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu, both authors, and both challenging to be the most successful writer of their age. The characters are real, but the story is fictionalized, and modernized in its vernacular, to illustrate that in many ways the more things change, the more they do stay the same. There are not a plethora of records about the personal lives of either of these ladies in waiting, and though Unrivaled has them in Teishi’s court at the same time, that part at least isn’t true. What is true is that both were successful and highly acclaimed writers for their time, Sei having written The Pillow Book and Murasaki The Tale of Genji, both classics and each studied quite extensively in Japanese schools. All of this detail is really context and background to this story, though. Both women are vying for Teishi’s appreciation, and the more they face this competition the more that they find themselves in conflict with each other. The competition doesn’t stop there, though. There’s Michinaga, Empress Teishi’s uncle, Sei’s former lover, and would be suitor of Murasaki. It’s a love triangle with an ulterior motive, to overthrow the current emperor. Michinaga has a keen interest in Murasaki’s new book, but there’s clearly something afoul here. When Murasaki’s insecurity gets the best of her and she overhears a conversation that wasn’t meant for her between Sei and Teishi, all bets are off, and this tale of love, heartbreak, and ultimately forgiveness takes a turn from the humor which permeates the delivery of the story to a much darker and emotional telling.
Adele Lim plays Empress Teishi. Teishi is the center around which this story revolves, but she’s also the play’s narrator, and in this role Adele is the breakout star. With a knack for handling the requirements of the character in the drama and the narration, which requires her to switch gears pretty quickly at times, Adele manages this story from start to finish. It’s a most humorous contrast, a character who looks like an empress, thanks in large part to costume designer Jacqueline Edwards and her grasp of combining a modern look with an 11th Century design, but speaks like a teenager. Alanah Pascual and Pearl Lam play authors Sei Shonagon and Murasaki Shikibu, respectively. While we’re led to believe that sex roles were slightly reversed in this time in Japan, and the way actor Michael Wu plays Michinago lends itself to that truth, the fact of the matter is, the society pits women, in this case Sei and Murasaki, against each other in order to further the pursuits of, you guessed it, men. If anything, it’s just not as obvious as we see it in our more modern society, but Unrivaled still shows that by creating an environment where women are insecure, never really sure of themselves and their place, insecurities that can be exploited, they’re never really in control of their lives. Unrivaled ultimately shows, though, that when women can break through that resistance, there’s a formative bond there that is unbreakable.
Beyond Adele’s Teishi all of the performances are good, and they need to be in order to portray the intricacies of the relationships that Rosie Narasaki’s work demands. Alanah is suitably confident and secure as the incumbent lady in waiting, with a sarcastic delivery that would put any rival on their heels, while Pearl brings a naiveté to her Murasaki that belies a self-confidence that, though fragile, is certainly there. I like the way they handle their interactions, and those with Adele and the empress as well, their delivery feels natural, it’s delivered with humor and quite of bit heart behind it, but when the story takes a turn, this cast is adept at changing the mood of the show. Finally, Michael’s Michinaga is a fun and funny character as well, which may be a little too much given his ulterior motives, but the lightness in which his character is presented doesn’t dissuade the audience from seeing what he is really about. The group as an ensemble does very well here, and what comes across is their enjoyment for delivering the material. It looks like they’re having fun with this.
Much of that chemistry comes down to the direction of Mimi Katano, as does the elegance of the design and presentation of the story. The set, designed by Robin Macartney, comes across as the living quarters of the palace, where the two writers live in their separate rooms. Through some creative moving of set pieces, the set transforms nicely into a number of other locations as well, and depth is provided by the actors using the entire theatre space to move. I mentioned Jacueline’s costuming above, but the entire scenic design feels like it’s dressed in 11th Century Japanese accessories, but feels modern at the same time, which is an overarching theme of Unrivaled, a modern story rooted in a traditional setting. Credit also goes to lighting designer Junfu (Albert) Chen and sound designer Josh Valdez for adding to the feeling of the story, and to stage manager Marilyn Gonzalez for managing the moving pieces and props, all in a way that keeps the pace of Unrivaled moving quickly.
Though it sounds cliche, Unrivaled proves that the more things change, the more they stay the same. What keeps us coming back to stories of relationships and their humanity is that at the end of the day, relationships are the one thing we all have in common. Unrivaled feels like a modern story of trust and insecurity, love and heartbreak, as well as the age old challenges of being a woman in a man’s world told with the backdrop of 11th Century Japan. The co-production between Seattle Public Theatre and SIS Productions is a very well presented story that shows while we may falter apart, together we are Unrivaled.
Unrivaled, a co-produced by SIS Productions and Seattle Public Theatre, runs on stage at Seattle Public Theatre through June 2. For more information about the show, and to purchase tickets, visit https://www.seattlepublictheater.org/.
