‘Terra Nova’ -- hell below zero at SCR

Tom Titus

The sinking of the Titanic wasn’t the only tragedy to befall the

British Empire in 1912. Thousands of miles to the south, Robert

Falcon Scott’s ill-fated expedition to Antarctica was encountering

disastrous results.

The story of these five men and their final days is chillingly

chronicled in Ted Tally’s “Terra Nova” -- the title comes from the

name of the vessel which carried them on their one-way journey -- now

unfolding in a magnificent production on the Segerstrom Stage of

South Coast Repertory.

“Terra Nova” is far more than the depiction of their deaths.

Tally’s drama probes the inner workings of the single-minded Scott

and his obsession to plant the Union Jack at the South Pole before

Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen and his party arrived -- and to do

so by singularly British ethics, or “playing the game,” as Scott

repeatedly declares.

This fanatical nationalism borders on lunacy when presented to

today’s audiences, and Tally employs the frequent appearances of

Scott’s wife, Kathleen, and his rival, Amundsen -- as fantasy figures

weaving in and out of Scott’s tortured mind -- to underscore that

point. Their intrusion offers a balancing perspective as well as

further defining the level of tragedy evidenced by that mission.

Why anyone would want to venture to such a vast, frigid wasteland

in the first place will be the question on the minds of most

playgoers. Tally’s play attempts to peer into the thoughts of Scott,

and uses his last letter home as an explanation: “I do not regret

this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships,

help one another and meet death with as great a fortitude as ever in

the past.”

Yet, Scott was no self-centered crackpot loner. He left behind a

loving wife, a young son and a baby on the way to embark on this

ultimately suicidal mission. And his almost fanatical concern for the

welfare of his men is repeatedly demonstrated in “Terra Nova.”

Director Martin Benson has fashioned a dynamic production at SCR,

with scenic and costume designer Angela Balogh Calin establishing the

harsh, unforgiving Antarctic conditions that greeted these men nearly

a century ago. It is a compelling production on both dramatic and

atmospheric counts.

The performance of Don Reilly as Scott is among the finest

presented on the SCR stages this year. Reilly projects the explorer’s

grim determination to reach the pole first -- he arrived only to find

a Norwegian flag planted there -- and his seething frustration as the

elements agonizingly claim members of his party one by one.

Tony Ward as the Welsh naval petty officer “Taffy” Evans best

illustrates this personal anguish as he ignores the dangers of a

lacerated hand only to fall a crazed victim to hypothermia. Robert

Curtis Brown plays the second victim, whose frostbitten foot

eventually overcomes him. Chet Grissom and Michael James Reed lend

strong support as the other members of the polar expedition.

The haunting, mocking figure of Amundsen -- whose use of dogs to

expedite the journey and later as food for the Norwegian party is

criticized by Scott as “not playing the game” -- receives a richly

ironic interpretation from Preston Maybank. And Nina Landey

beautifully portrays Scott’s loving wife, frustrated by her husband’s

seemingly foolhardy obsession.

Drama on stage is far more involving when it’s based on truth,

which makes “Terra Nova” such an important piece of literature. At

South Coast Repertory, it’s also an outstanding production.

* TOM TITUS reviews local theater for the Daily Pilot. His reviews

appear Fridays.