Tricks, manipulation, sex and violence: anything to get to the front of the ‘Line’

The British are self-proclaimed experts at it; old Soviets used to do it for the bread; the Spanish seem to have a style to suit all occasions, while over in New York they seem to like watching plays about it…

The act of queuing is the unlikely if dramatically fertile subject of US playwright Israel Horovitz’s absurdist comedy Line. First premiered in the Big Apple in 1967, it was revived at the Off-Broadway 13th Street Repertory Theater in 1974 and has remained there ever since, making it the longest-running play now on in Manhattan.

Forty years on, audiences in Madrid are finally getting the chance to see the one-act show in its original English version this weekend, courtesy of two performances by the Face 2 Face Theatre Company.

It’s a new move for a 14-year-old troupe that until now has been best known for its educational English-language family shows, such as A Christmas Carol, Drockula and Murder on the Disorient Express. But why choose this play as its first foray into grown-up theater? “It has never been produced in Spain, and in general Israel Horovitz is not a well-known author here, as opposed to in France where he is the most-produced American playwright,” explains the company’s American co-founder, Paolo Abbate. “It was perfect: it was just the right number of actors; it’s comedy, which is one of our specialties; all the characters are very well written; and the dialogue is hilarious and quirky, which is always one of our trademarks.”

The dialogue is hilarious and quirky, which is always one of our trademarks.”

The group brought over Los Angeles-based Drew Phillips to direct the five-man cast of characters, who are all fighting their way to the front of the line for some unspecified event using a combination of tricks, manipulation, sex and violence. The main character is Stephen, the youngest of the line-up upon whom the rest look with envy. Then there’s a couple with marital problems – one of which is that the wife wants to sleep with every man she meets, a fact the husband chooses to ignore – and jock baseball fan Fleming, somewhat oblivious to life around him. Finally there’s Dolan, who refers to himself as “Mr Niceguy,” but has a short fuse, and represents the violence that lurks beneath the polite fronts that many people put on.

“It’s an examination of human nature and everyone’s drive to be first,” sums up Abbate. “And the ways that people weasel their way into first through seduction or violence or convincing or distracting. On one hand it’s a philosophical outlook on human nature and on the other hand it’s comedy – straight comedy – because of the situations that are created in that line and the way the different characters are constructed.”

Unlike Face 2 Face’s kids shows, this time they’re not making any concessions for non-English speakers. “We’re basically playing it like it would be played in London or New York, with that sort of language and speed,” says Abbate, who also acts in the play alongside two other American and two British actors.

It’s an examination of human nature and everyone’s drive to be first”

Not that he wants to put off any native Madrileños keen to gauge their level of English: “On the other hand because the situations are very clear and there’s a lot of physical comedy involved, the story is pretty easy to follow from a visual point of view.”

The idea is that this weekend’s two performances are a test for a planned longer run of the play in November. Though whether that ends up extending for the next 40 years will, of course, depend on how people choose to get in line…

Line. June 7 & 8 at Teatro del Barrio, C/ Zurita, 20, Madrid. www.teatrodelbarrio.com