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Unsettling, intense hard to watch at times; you should see Bug

“I haven’t been to bed with a woman in a long time, but I think I could go to bed with you,” says poker-faced Peter, showing he ain’t no Romeo in Ignition Theatre’s season-opening production, Bug.
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Peter and Agnes

“I haven’t been to bed with a woman in a long time, but I think I could go to bed with you,” says poker-faced Peter, showing he ain’t no Romeo in Ignition Theatre’s season-opening production, Bug.

Of course, the psychological horror thriller that started on Thursday night in the Nickle Studio, upstairs at Red Deer’s Memorial Centre, isn’t your average romance.

In fact, if Stephen King wrote a love story, it would probably be a lot like this chilling Tracy Letts drama about two people who really never should have met.

Peter, 27, is a former soldier with a murky past. He may or may not be AWOL, and might or might not have people after him.

Agnes is a forty-ish blond, whose abusive ex-husband, Goss, has just been released from jail and is trying to force his way back into her life.

Agnes lives in a seedy motel room and anesthetizes herself with booze and drugs. She is so emotionally needy and scared of Goss that she’s ready to let Peter into her life — and her heart — without really knowing anything about him.

And so their downward spiral begins with something as small as a bed bug — or is it a bed bug?

Peter is convinced there’s something more sinister at work and he leads impressionable Agnes down an awfully dark rabbit hole, where her friends, and even her threatening ex-husband, can’t follow.

This production, directed by Matt Grue, is absolutely riveting by the second act — in the same way as a train wreck might be to passing motorists.

It’s also well acted — especially by Tilly Van Keule as Agnes and Paul Sutherland as Peter.

Van Keule pulls off a powerhouse performance that starts off with heart-breaking vulnerability. Her tough-talking waitress has a painful skeleton in her closet that’s revealed as the play progresses. While Agnes tries to mask her emotional weakness, it resurfaces regularly — especially in volatile exchanges with Goss, which are hard to watch.

So lonely is Agnes that she makes a conscious decision to brush aside the rational voice in her head in order to fill a void in her life.

Sutherland is very convincing in his portrayal of a former soldier with a muddled, one-track mind. It’s an unflinching, frightening performance — especially when watching Peter emotionally unravel.

My one quibble would be that his character comes across as too odd too early on.

If Peter initially appeared slightly more rational, his descent into delusion might be even more unexpected and disturbing.

Jeremy Weddell’s explosive Goss goes from mild-mannered to brutish in mere seconds, while Tara Rorke brings a much needed gust of common sense into the motel room as Agnes’s friend R.C. (although she should lose her faltering Oklahoma accent).

Paul Boultbee is a nebulous force as the mysteriously intentioned Dr. Sweet. Is he really there to help or does he have personal motives?

To some extent, Bug keeps you guessing. It’s suspenseful, intense and contains an interesting story line.

But it also contains some rather horrifying stage effects that take a lot out of an empathetic audience — so it’s not for the faint hearted.

For those who want to experience some intellectual chills this Halloween, however, Bug is certainly your ticket to Creepyville.

Special kudos must go to makeup designer Caitlyn Thoreson and sound designer Dustin Clark (who probably owes some homage to Alfred Hitchcock films).

The unsettling Bug continues to Oct. 29.

lmichelin@www.reddeeradvocate.com