‘Terra Nova’

Theatre Intime stages Ted Tally’s drama based on the journals and letters of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott.

By: Stuart Duncan
Ted Tally’s searing drama Terra Nova was very popular when it was first written in the mid- 1970s. It never reached New York, but was a big favorite with regional theaters and later with community groups. It is based on the true-life journals and letters found on the frozen body of Capt. Robert Falcon Scott, an Englishman who embarked on an Antarctic expedition in 1910 to reach the South Pole first.
   Scott’s mission reportedly was filled with exalted egos, inexperience, bad planning and confusion. He reached the Pole, but was beaten by three days by a Norwegian who used dog sleds. For his part, Scott considered using dogs as "not in the game." He insisted that only manpower should be used. His return trip to a safe camp also failed — his party was found, all dead, only 11 miles from safety.
   Theatre Intime on the Princeton University campus is reviving the play, and director Doug Lavanture has taken on the considerable challenges of the piece. Critics over the years have pointed out that playwright Tally contributed little in the way of characterizations, relying on written material rather than using conversational language. As a result there are many high-blown speeches representing symbols more than real people. Some of the roles, especially among the members of Scott’s party, seem interchangeable.
   Lavanture has done a remarkable job, staging the evening on an virtually bare stage, marked only by craggy pieces of sheeting and gauze to represent the ice and snow of the tundra, plus some fine lighting design (credit Shawn Fennell and Josh Williams) to represent the beautiful skies of the Antarctic. The cast numbers seven, including Scott’s wife (Cate Adams, who manages to make sense of the stiff-upper-lip dignity of the lonely, deposed women of the era) and Thomas Dollar, who plays the Norwegian rival plus doubling and tripling as a French waiter and a British member of the Geographic Club.
   Scott is played with dogged intensity by Max Staller, who still finds some sense of naivete in the role. His teammates are played by Kut Akdogan, Damien Carrieri, Shawn Fennell and Stephen Strenio. Director Lavanture has used sound (mostly chilling wind) and soft music to enhance the mood, and from time to time slides show pictures from the actual expedition. One moment is particularly gut-wrenching: When the five arrive at the Pole, late but proud, they tie the British flag to an ice pick and pose for a shot. The actual photo is displayed behind them. Most effective.
   At the opening night performance, there were a dozen people in the audience, including myself and a pair of ushers. Surely this production deserves much better than that.
Terra Nova continues at Hamilton Murray Theater, Princeton University, Dec. 7-9. Performances: Thurs.-Fri. 8 p.m.; Sat. 2, 8 p.m. Tickets cost $12, $10 seniors/faculty/staff, $6 students. For information, call (609) 258-1742. On the Web: www.theatreintime.org