What would cause an HIV-negative young man to “bug chase,” or deliberately seek infection with the virus? That is the question at the heart of J. Julian Christopher’s raw drama, now in its world premiere with First Floor Theater in an earnest and sometimes-intense staging by director Hutch Pimentel. Unfortunately, the answer remains elusive.
The “bug chaser” in question is the aptly named Chance (Nik Kourtis), a soon-to-be-30 gay man with a master of fine arts degree in creative writing whose talents are instead used in service of a lucrative financial writing gig. Through the 13 scenes in this 80-minute drama, we see Chance torn between the dangerous drugs-and-sex-parties world of Sebastian (Michael Reyes) and the cozier life offered by Ethan Sweet (Brian Keys), a baker he meets on a dating site for HIV-positive gay men — though he doesn’t tell Ethan that he’s still negative. A clinic worker (Ashley J. Hicks) calls Chance out on his self-destructive behavior. But even she can’t quite crack the mystery of why he is so determined to change his status.
Despite the explicit sex and drug use depicted in Christopher’s play, there is a whiff of discomfiting moralizing that gets in the way of really telling us more about Chance’s motivations, despite revelations about his childhood. Reyes’ Sebastian, who admits he wanted to change his HIV status to qualify for housing and medical benefits, feels like the disposable bad boy in this narrative, while by contrast, Keys’ baker seems positioned to represent the “good” gay man who was accidentally infected early on and has dutifully avoided unsafe sex ever since.
It’s a shame, because the subject is so fascinating and complex, and the actors here commit with go-for-broke intensity. Christopher’s dialogue shows a flair for waspish wit. But like Chance himself, when the time comes to cut away the outer layers and show the aching need for intimacy at its heart, “Animals Commit Suicide” settles for hesitation cuts.
Review: ‘Animals Commit Suicide’
2 STARS
Through Dec. 12, Collaboraction at Flat Iron Arts Building, 1579 N. Milwaukee Ave., $20 at www.firstfloortheater.com.
Kerry Reid is a freelance critic.
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