Writer: Shannon Kurlander
Director: Lydia McKinley
Katie is a Brooklynite who, after one too many disastrous relationships, is now holed up in a “wellness retreat” – in this case, her best friend’s sister’s bougie resort. Initially resisting any of the holistic sessions on offer, she instead spends her time getting sunburnt and sneaking in red wine disguised within takeaway coffee cups.
On a stage dominated by simple but effective lighting and sound design, Shannon Kurlander performs her own mildly entertaining monologue. When sitting alone, though, Katie is not that interesting, at least initially. Far more vivid is the one friend she makes at the wellness centre, an older woman known as “Miss Margaret” who is a frequent visitor. Some of Kurlander’s descriptions, limited as they are to Miss Margaret’s wealthy accoutrements from Cartier bracelets to Hermès handbags, nevertheless manage to conjure up a character that is more sharply defined than her own.
Katie experiences growth as a stage character, if not in her own journey, during a group therapy session where she talks about the type of men she is attracted to – emotionally unavailable men she can take on as “a project”. Her tale of the most recent, an intolerant musician, describes how she uses the same tactics to “train” him as one would a puppy – positive reinforcement, praise and treats for the things he does right, rather than combating the things he does wrong. That means that his jealous rage, his manipulation, and other flaws never get addressed, causing the breakdown of the relationship.
Kurlander commands the small stage as she tells the story, but the gradual growth of Katie’s knowledge of her own self is less effective. There is a welcome counterbalance to her first group therapy story with a second, more wholesome, tale of a romantic encounter that ends very differently. Beyond that, The Project feels like it neither has the emotional depth nor the spiritual clarity to sustain interest in Katie’s journey.
That’s not to say there isn’t progress. By the one-act play’s end, we see someone who is more open to her own failings than at the start. And Kurlander is savvy enough to drop hints that while Katie’s cycle of disastrous relationships may be abating, she will likely continue to need the assistance the retreat provides many times in the future – like Miss Margaret, she may become a frequent flyer.
But The Project ends with a note of romantic optimism that feels undeserved, a reward for barely putting in the work to resolve her issues. After her first group session, Katie is disappointed that her fellow attendees aren’t more impressed with her story. One can empathise with that sensation at the end of this interesting but unfulfilling tale.
Continues until 3 May 2025
The Reviews Hub Score
Unfulfilling
