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Rousuck's Review: Cohesion Theatre's "Neverwhere"

Shealyn Jae Photography

In the world of NeilGaiman’s“Neverwhere,” there are talking rats, duplicitous angels and immortal assassins.

Most of the action takes place below ground in the London sewers and subway, or “tube.” The supernatural goings-on include a girl who can walk through doors -- where there are no doors.

With so much imaginative material, you might expect the theatrical adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s fantasy novel to take its own leaps of fantasy. But ambitious as CohesionTheatreCompany’s efforts may be, in many respects, director Brad Norris’ production and playwright Robert Kauzlaric’s script are too literal an interpretation of the book  (a book that was, itself, adapted from Gaiman’sBBC-TV series).

The play follows the adventures of a good-hearted London businessman named Richard. He comes to the aid of a bloody, battered young woman, who has collapsed on the street; from then on, his life is never the same.

Almost immediately, Richard is visited by a pair of sinister gentlemen, Mr. Croup and Mr. Vandemar, who are looking for the young woman. Their felonious resume is formidable.

Matthew Payne’s Mr. Croup is as excessively genteel as he is malevolent. But like many of the show’s performers, when Payne starts yelling, his words get lost.

The young woman turns out to be named Door, presumably because she can go through doors – even when there aren’t any. Cori Dioquino’s Door has an intense, but impish quality. Though for a character in dire straits, Dioquino’s emotions remain on a surprisingly even keel.

Door lives in the Underside of London – the sewers and subways. When Richard – played by Joseph Coracle as a bumbling, nice guy – decides to follow her, he finds himself in a dark and dangerous world. Escape is difficult, if not impossible, as Jonas David Grey’s character explains.

Like all good fantasy stories, “Neverwhere” involves a quest – several quests. Richard’s quest is to find a way home. Door’s quest is to find out why Croup and Vandemar killed her family. Even Door’s fierce female bodyguard, played by Cassandra Dutt, is on a quest: To slay the Great Beast of London.

The central structures in designer KelMillionie’s set are two wood enclosures, the size of cargo containers. These are wheeled around by cast members and used to represent everything from bridges to subway cars to a labyrinth. But they’re cumbersome and do little to distinguish between London aboveground and London below.

I read Neil Gaiman’s novel before seeing Cohesion’s production. But “Neverwhere” has so much plot and so many characters, and yes, so much social commentary – the heights, the depths; the light, the dark -- I’m not sure how clear it is to the uninitiated.

Mostly, though, Cohesion – and playwright Robert Kauzlaric -- missed a chance to be as creative in adapting the novel as the novel is itself. Only when we finally meet the Great Beast of London – a marvelous two-person puppet created by Elisabeth Roskos – do we get a glimpse of the artistry that might have made this fantasy fantastic.

Cohesion Theatre Company’s production of “Neverwhere” continues at the United Evangelical Church in Canton through June 19. You can find ticketing information here

J. Wynn Rousuck has been reviewing theater for WYPR's Midday (and previously, Maryland Morning) since 2007. Prior to that, she was the theater critic of The Baltimore Sun, where she reviewed more than 3,000 plays over the course of 23 years.