Theater Review: Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist
Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist played at Laurie Beechman Theatre, and should DEFINITELY make a return soon. As people drank martinis and ate their calamari, one of the most outlandish plays you will ever see played on. Written and directed by actor Byron Lane (Walt), the play is unbelievably camp in its approach of a sincere, serious topic: suicide.
Imagine it! Wanting to end your life, but then Tilda Swinton (Tom Lenk) answers an ad to be your roommate! What! Can you even think of killing yourself when something as deranged as that happens? When we meet Walt, he is going through a severe depression; breakups will do that to a guy! Yet, Tilda Swinton’s fiery, fabulous entrance into the play comes in like a doctor holding a toy as a baby receives an injection; suddenly, Walt becomes distracted from his needling pain. The result is an oddball comedy on friendship and how, sometimes, we need a crazier person to call us out on our own crazy.
Lenk is SO FUNNY as Tilda Swinton. He just bleeds unicorns and confetti: truly iconic. I am talking Joanne The Scammer levels of flamboyancy and fun. He punches a barrage of jokes that feel insane, random, and completely enrapturing. If Tilda Swinton is truly this person then I want to meet her TOMORROW! Yet, within Lenk’s pulsing, punned delivery of this acting legend comes a worthy promotion to live life exuberantly. Link makes Tilda unstoppable and constantly colorful, which, in contrast to Walt, makes you wonder why most of us do not choose be delightfully deranged and joyous.
While walking away from this show, you wish you could be Tilda, but you realize you are more of a Walt in need of a Tilda. Walt exemplifies all the times we let others’ cruelty match our self-loathing. Although heartbreak is rightfully painful, it is not an excuse for you to destroy or devalue yourself. This is a dynamic that you can see as Jayne Entwistle and Mark Jude Sullivan play Walt’s various family members that all seem disappointed in Walt. He is never “enough” for others, but Lane plays up that Walt is not enough for himself, either. While you laugh at his melodramatic take on true sadness, you still can’t help but feel its realness. Whether you are as confidently deluded as Tilda or fractured with fear like Walt, Tilda Swinton Answers an Ad on Craigslist shows two extremes can find balance with each other.
