Take an aging agoraphobic archaeologist, her married ex-boyfriend, a young lesbian with a crush, a heterosexual-adultery back story and an ancient artifact that could put our heroine in prison, and you have “Hadrian's Wall.†Yet with all of those potentially dramatic elements, this Small Victories Productions show, which completed its Fringe run, is a bit of a disappointment. At a lazily paced 90 minutes it sometimes feels interminable.
Ramona (Laura Siner) is a likable woman. She doesn't care for the phobic label, preferring to think of herself as reclusive. Amy (Rebecca White), a young library assistant, is tactful about Ramona's strange situation, saying only, “You seem indoorsy.â€
Ramona is in professional exile because she is accused of having committed a crime on an archaeological dig: removing a stone that may be connected with the mysterious disappearance of the Roman Ninth Legion in the second century A.D. David (Eric Rolland), who wants her to plead guilty, is a former live-in lover who claims to be just her lawyer now. Yet he makes unusually frequent house calls bearing Chinese food and stays for dinner and heart-to-heart talks.
Dani Vetere's script, directed by Stephan Cedars, is well structured but never fully explains Ramona's behavior, whether her refusal to take her lawyer's advice or the blossoming romance with Amy.
Some real interest is piqued when the current location of the 1,900-year-old stone is revealed. And the flashbacks to Ramona and David's relationship have an unexpected energy. But a plot this full of incident and possibility should play better.
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