Phyllis Nagy Returns to “Never Land”

The curtain opens to a sparse living room in a French cottage where a young woman bathes herself. Her angst-ridden father enters in a dapper suit waging a confrontation. The woman stands from her tub, defiant, dripping wet, and fully nude. Welcome to Phyllis Nagy’s “Never Land.” “Peter Pan” this ain’t.

A brave, dramatic, comic-tragedy, “Never Land,” written and directed by Nagy (pronounced “Nahj”), has been translated into more than 20 languages, produced throughout the world, and finally makes its stateside debut this month at the Rogue Machine Theatre in Los Angeles.

On the eleven years it took to get from the page to the American stage, Nagy says “I’ve said ‘no’ to production offers from small and large theatres across the U.S. I’ve been concerned with how the play and its tone would be handled – it’s a delicate, tricky piece. Then John Perrin Flynn (Rogue Machine’s Artistic Director) approached me. I liked the fact that their company is ambitious. It’s kind of an impossible play for them to do in a place like this, but I said if I can direct, we’ll do it here.  All the pieces felt right, and here we are.”

When asked about directing her own writing, Nagy replies “I never direct first productions because I learn so much about the world by watching what goes on as it’s first mounted.”

“Never Land” was born out of Nagy’s experience living in the United Kingdom. “I took pride in my adopted country as only a displaced American could. At the time I was living there, I expe­rienced the birth of the European Union, and then was amazed at the surreal cauldron of British grief and rage that came out of Princess Diana’s death in Paris — ultimately igniting Britain with great national pride, while simultaneously highlighting a barely suppressed hostility towards the French. All of these themes helped shape this play.”

Nagy was also intrigued by a small news story she read in 1992. “This French family desperately wanted to be English which eventually drove the father to shoot his teenage daugh­ter, his wife, and himself — and the whole reason how the police knew about what happened was the teenage daughter kept a diary written in English.”

The dysfunctional wannabe-British family at the center of “Never Land” are the Jouberts — an unforgettable trio played to perfection by Katherine Touzer, Bradley Fisher, and Lisa Pelikan. On the entire ensemble, Nagy describes them as “unafraid and incredibly committed.”

Sly references to British culture abound through “Never Land,” including fox hunts, Dusty Spring­field, excerpts from “Fawlty Towers,” and a por­trait of Queen Elizabeth that never leaves the walls of the set. Nagy adds, “Emotionally there will be some understanding of what is going on even if all the references are not caught.” “‘Never Land’ is my favorite child among all the plays I’ve written. I think that it’s the sort of play that changes with each audience — some nights the audience finds it hilarious, and other nights they might find it frightening. And it has its own life that way. Nagy, an Emmy Award nominee for writing and directing the HBO movie “Mrs. Harris” which starred Annette Bening and Ben Kingsley, also keeps busy creating new works for the big screen, including an adaptation of author Patri­cia Highsmith’s classic novel Carol.

“I was Pat Highsmith’s friend for the last ten years of her life. I met her while I was a researcher at the New York Times. I suggested they hire her to do a walking tour of Green­wood Cemetery. I went with her and we became fast friends. She was a very generous person who was also extremely private — almost to the point of being a recluse, but not in a Howard Hughes sort of way. She stuck to herself and lived in this tiny little town in Switzerland. She was a very daring writer.”

When asked about other risk-taking writers that inspire her, names of playwrights spring quickly to Nagy’s lips, “Wallace Shawn, Carol Churchill, Timberlake Wertenbaker, and John Guare. Albert Innaurato’s ‘The Transfiguration of Benno Blimpie’ is a stunning play from the 1970s that is not even done much anymore — it’s a shame. For filmmakers, I love Martin Scors­ese, and I think Paul Thomas Anderson is such a great writer in addition to being a great director.

Now living in Los Angeles, Nagy says she hopes audiences experience a shift of some kind from “Never Land.” “It’s a piece that should have people coming away from it asking questions.”

When asked if there is anything else she’d like to say about the play, she smiles, and without missing a beat, says, “Come and see it!” ▼

“Never Land” runs through November 15th at Rogue Machine Theatre, 5041 Pico Boulevard (just west of LaBrea). For more information, visit www.roguemachinetheatre.com