Theater Review: Square Go Wrestles With Adolescence
Do our bullies really care about us? I wonder that. I, like many, have experienced bullying, and was told, “It’s not personal” by others trying to comfort me. When bullied, you get the typical, “they are just going through things,” but so are you, or, at least, so is Max. Playing at 59E59 Theatres, Square Go is about a young boy contemplating how he is going to beat up his never- seen, school bully, Danny, but the audience realizes his greatest threat is himself.
First, Square Go is hilariously interactive. With a soundtrack and ring setting, Max, played by Gavin Jon Wright, and his best friend Daniel Portman’s Stevie, approach the audience like “wannabe wrestlers” or rather tough guys. They embody the false confidence and sweet silliness of young boys that wish they could be great men already. When you are kid, you want to grow up because you think bullies become a past-tense or, at least, better to handle. Hence, these kids see professional wrestlers like the ultimate warriors against haters like Danny. Written by Written by Kieran Hurley and Gary McNair, the real problem is that these two boys are not self-loving.
The perks of having so much audience interaction is that within 60 minutes, you really care for these boys. You laugh as they banter and bash through you; whisking through and joking with the crowd like a pair of rambunctious kids. Portman and Wright make their characters , bold, bright, sincere, FUNNY, and hurting. Whether it be problems in their home with their parents or problem with themselves, you start to see that their bully’s cruelty is only amplified because they carry issues. Thus, amongst the sincere laughs and boisterous nature of Portman’s Stevie and Wright’s Max, viewers learn a valuable lesson; we have a harder time confronting bullies when we cannot confront of ourselves.
Directed by Finn den Hertog, the show reveals that Danny may beat up the boys in the playground with his fists of rage, but their taking of his hits come from a deeper fear; what if they truly are so flawed that they do not deserve better? Such a question plagues humans all their lives; the wonder if we deserve the pain we have received. Hence, the crowd LOVED Max and Stevie for being crazy, loving, noble, and simple. You pull for these two as they push and punch each other to face their fears, which, in the end, makes Max gain the courage to have a “square go” at Danny. The irony is that the bully ends up beating another kid; proving that a bully hits without aim, but you need to heal with purpose. Square Go plays till June 30. Click Here To Buy Tickets. Located at: 59 East 59th Street.
