Tender Napalm

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Philip Ridley’s much loved play Tender Napalm is getting a crackling revival at TheaterLab. Directed with aplomb by Rory McGregor, actors Ben Ahlers and Victoria Pedretti are tearing up the stage.

Tender Napalm is a poetic play that doesn’t so much tell a story as it does evoke feelings. What is love? What are relationships between men and women really about? Set (sort of) on a desert island, the play contains powerful language memorably brought to life by Ahlers (Man) and Pedretti (Woman).

Both actors are young up and comers and it’s a pleasure to see them in the intimate TheaterLab space. With seating on both sides and staging that takes full advantage of the intimacy of the room, there isn’t a bad seat in the house.

The play is very much a piece of theater; you won’t hear language like this on an episode of Law & Order. “I could squeeze a bullet between those lips. Point first. Press it between those rosebud lips. Prise it between your pearly whites. Gently. I wouldn’t break a single tooth. Your tongue would feel something cold and hard. Taste of metal and gunpowder.” The two characters frequently fall into monologues, but there is also rapid fire dialogue that builds into sexual tension (and release thereof).

The production is spare but solid. The set is pretty much two chairs and was designed by Brendan Gonzalez Boston. The costumes, by Avery Reed, are nothing fancy but they work. The evocative lighting design is by Stacy Derosier, and the effective sound design is by Brian Hickey.

This production of Tender Napalm offers a well-directed play and two fine actors on the rise.

Tender Napalm (through December 15, 2024)

Steady Hand Studios, in association with Rory McGregor

TheaterLab, 357 West 36^th Street, in Manhattan

For tickets, visit https://www.tendernapalmnyc.com/

Running time: 95 minutes without an intermission