The Visit

On Friday, April 9, I had the pleasure of going to see the Georgia Southern production of "The Visit". In this play, a wealthy former resident returns to her hometown. The town, which has recently fallen on some financial hardships, is hoping the wealthy benefactress will bestow upon them a monetary gift of some kind. Claire, the wealthy woman, agrees to this but only if her former boyfriend, Anton Shill is killed. When they were younger, Claire became pregnant by Shill, but he denied paternity. This caused Claire to have her reputation destroyed and was forced to become a prostitute.

The townspeople of Gullen, led by their Bergomaster (or Mayor-like person) deny they will ever succumb to her stipulations. Suddenly, townspeople begin buying things on credit and purchasing things that aren't a necessity, like new shoes. Anton Shill becomes suspicious and eventually he relents and allows the town to kill him for the money.

This play, though very interesting, was about an hour too long. At three hours running time, an hour of the story could have been cut out purely for times sake. This being said, the story was captivating and morbid. The audience wants to find out whether or not the town will rise up and kill the man and if so, why was Claire so dead set against him being killed.

My one wish is that the actors would have gotten into character more. The play takes place in Germany, yet only the character of the Bergermaster, played by Geoff Carr, is the only one who attempts a German accent. I did enjoy the costumes and how they depicted the period of the play.

My favorite characters were the two blind men who follow Claire around. They dress in identical suspender outfits and repeat everything they say. They offer comic relief in an otherwise depressing play.

Overall, I enjoyed the play and was grateful for the chance to see it. It was a fun event to enrich my last semester at Georgia Southern.