Extras! Extras!: 'Stones in His Pockets'

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"STONES IN HIS POCKETS" is an unqualified success — a contemporary, thoughtful, funny, unique work, presented in nearly the most minimal circumstances imaginable: It's just two guys on a small stage, in a small room, acting.

The actors in this Keegan Theatre production, Eric Lucas and Matthew Keenan, are entirely up to the challenge offered by Marie Jones' decade-old text: In "Stones," by Marie Jones, they play more than a dozen characters in a rural Irish town that has been invaded by a Hollywood film crew. And while not every portrayal is convincing, they are all entertaining.

The primary characters, Charlie (Lucas) and Jake (Keenan), are introduced with Charlie ineptly attempting to scam extra dessert in a lunch line. After observing the pathetic scene, Jake strikes up a conversation, and we soon learn they're both extras in a major motion picture starring the glamorous and much-admired Caroline Giovanni (Lucas).

The Irish characters here are a fairly miserable lot: Charlie, 38, says early on that he's "started over so many times I've lost count," while Jake has picked "on the dole and living with the ma" over adulthood. The other members of their community are watching their agrarian way of life slowly slip away. But they do love being in the movies.

Giovanni, of course, adores the Irish countryside, hates the movies and has a reputation for "going ethnic." Lucas plays her as an exaggerated stereotype, which is perhaps too silly, but also a lot of fun.

Despite the bleak horizons of Charlie, Jake and the rest of the extras, they manage to find shards of hope, which may be more a tribute to the indomitable human spirit than any real reason the characters have for optimism.

If some of this sounds familiar, it should: It's a continuation of the Keegan's New Island Project, which Lucas helms with his wife, Kerry, the director of "Stones."

» Theatre on the Run, 3700 South Four Mile Run Drive, Arlington; through Aug. 23, $20 ($15 for students, seniors); 703-892-0202.

Written by Express contributor Tim Follos
Photos by Ray Giewek