In a cafe, three couples are loudly arguing with each other. Their angry voices are silenced when a man starts singing, in full baritone, that famous aria from the French opera “Carmen.” “Love is the child of the Bohemian / It has never, never known any law.” It is a bit random, but at the “Café Le Monde,” randomness is the point.
Going into “Café Le Monde,” written by Charles L. Mee, and performed by the Ark Theatre Company, I did not know what to expect, since I could not find a plot synopsis of the play.
After viewing it, it is obvious why the company decided to forgo giving a plot summary. This is one of those plays where plot is out of place. For “Café Le Monde” means “world cafe” and as such, is a series of seemingly random dialogues. Some are original, others from writers such as Anton Chekhov and James Joyce.
It all comes together into an exploration of the pleasures to be found in life: dancing, singing, loving, waxing philosophic, eating a cookie.
The characters in the piece are nameless, most coming in for their dialogue and then disappearing again, similar to the comings and goings at a coffee shop.
As such, the actors have to act, sing, dance ““ and sometimes play a musical instrument ““ their way through a variety of roles, often without the benefit of elaborate costume changes. The fact that the audience can still discern that these are different characters is a testament to the skill of the ensemble.
The most memorable figures, of which there are many, include Jason Vande Brake for his rousing rendition of “The Habanera,” Marissa Moses for her beautiful and expressive dance solo, and Tyler Seiple as the omnipresent cafe waiter, who seems to understand that the audience is slowly coming to terms with the fact that life is a series of random occurrences.
Annie Loui’s direction adds more nuance to a script that, at times, reads like a series of dialogue. Through the staging, Loui is able to inject wordless glances and reactions from the surrounding actors that were not in the script, making the issues that each character goes through just that bit more universal.
“Café Le Monde” is that type of play that benefits the most when played in a very small, very intimate and minimalist environment. The setting, simple with only dark chairs, a lace-curtained door and sketches on the wall, successfully pulls the audience into the cafe.
There are some moments that do not make much sense and do venture towards the territory of strange for the sake of being strange, such as a segment in which an actor consumes two ice-cream sandwiches, while two actresses roll on the floor.
Perhaps it is addressing the cathartic nature of ice cream. Or something like that. It’s best not to think about it too much and instead, venture into the next segment.
Suffice it to say, “Café Le Monde” feels like eavesdropping into a conversation at a coffee shop, where the audience never knows the context but instead, is forced to take the short moment as it is and move onto the next one.
The action moves quickly so that the audience is never bored and is just short enough without becoming repetitious or gimmicky. This is not a negative play. There is not overarching commentary about sadness, disease, or all of those negativities which seem to define the modern psyche.
For all of its off-key moments, “Café” is a positive play, highlighting those moments of life that make up happiness, in big and small forms.
“Café Le Monde” is also that type of play that is not readily accessible. Do not expect a discernable narrative or to truly understand anything ““ just enjoy it like a fine cup of espresso, and savor the experience for what it is.
E-mail Tran at dtran@media.ucla.edu