Bakersfield Mist

‘Bakersfield Mist’ alludes to the 1950 painting ‘Lavender Mist’ by abstract expressionist Jackson Pollock – a mess of red, white, blue and yellow in the artist’s signature chaotic flourish. In this play by Stephen Sachs (co-founder of Fountain Theatre in Los Angeles) the central piece is a painting procured at a junk shop for $3. The art collector in question is Bakersfield trailer park resident Maude Gutman (played to the brash-trash hilt by Fiona Kennedy, last seen at Ad Astra in the very different Marvin’s Room). Maude is naturally keen to prove the painting’s provenance and reap the financial reward, so she enlists the help of an art expert from New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Lionel Percy (Steven Grives –well-known for his international film and TV work). Their encounter provides the comedy and drama in this short and entertaining play.

Inspired by a true story, the piece taps into our abiding fascination for the get-rich-quick possibility of an art miracle when trash is converted to treasure. Even on the day I saw Bakersfield Mist, the press were recycling a 2017 story of a women who bought a set of ceramic plates at a Salvation Army store in New York and discovered they were Picassos worth more than $40,000. In Maude’s case, her Pollock could be worth a heck of a lot more than that! The clash of cultures is the playwright’s grist as he explores how we judge by our first impressions in art as well as in human encounters. Maude challenges Lionel about his qualifications for assessing her painting, and Lionel questions Maude’s taste in ‘art’ as evidenced by her thrift-shop collectables that decorate her trailer. The performers obviously relish their characters’ differences – Fiona lets rip with the foul-mouthed and stubborn Maude, while Steven bring the finesse and control of his wealth of experience to the conservative and restrained Lionel. They make a great team.

The trailer park setting is beautifully captured by Bill Haycock’s superb stage design – and the beauty of Ad Astra’s intimate theatre space is that you feel that you are sitting with the central characters in Maude’s trailer. The park is also cleverly and succinctly brought to life through sound design by Greg Scurr and lighting design by Geoff Squires. Director Jennifer Flowers has vast experience as a performer and she knows how to please an audience. She has achieved a superb collaboration that is a joy to watch.

The playwright tends towards the overdramatic as the piece comes to a conclusion, and I do wish that Sachs had given the characters more breathing space to explore their intersections rather than just where they collide. More of a closeness would have been a terrific payoff, especially in the hands of such superb actors. But the culture clash provides a wonderful canvas for the performers who use their wit and timing to keep things moving. The 90-minute single act whizzes by too soon!

Beth Keehn

Find out more: adastracreativity.com/productions/bakersfield-mist

Photographer: Christopher Sharman