The reasons for their train trip — the onset of nuclear winter after an unspecified attack — don't reveal themselves right away. And at first, the interaction between Celia (Tierney Nolen) and Rhys (William Foote) has the push-me/pull-you rhythms of a romantic comedy — oddly light-hearted under the circumstances. But as their banter unfolds and barriers are broken down, we learn the reason for Rhys's intense desire to connect with his benchmate, and for Celia's equally intense (and possibly irrational) desire to get where she's going — and Kara Sevda (Turkish for "blind passion," explains playwright Lisa VillaMil) becomes an increasingly moving testament to both the good and the evil humans are capable of.
Nolen, an actress of grave intelligence with huge, expressive eyes, commands attention and stirs our curiosity about the "blind passion" that drives her. Foote is all gangly puppy-dog charm until he tells his own terrifying story of a failure (at least in his own eyes) that he's trying to atone for. Navigating the rocky shoals of their encounter, the pair moves from suspicion to friendliness to fear to a kind of love, with utter believability. The production overall, under the direction of Kat Haan, has a pristine simplicity, with subtle shifts in lighting and sound (sirens, crowds, explosions) establishing a low hum of anxiety as Celia and Rhys wait for their lottery numbers to be announced and, perhaps, for the end of the world.
The final performance of Kara Sevda at the Tampa International Fringe Festival takes place this evening, Sunday, May 14, at 6:30 p.m. at Silver Meteor Gallery, 2213 E. 6th Ave., Tampa. Purchase buttons and tickets at the venue or at New World Brewery. For more info on the Fringe in its final day, go to tampafringe.org.
This article appears in May 11-18, 2017.