Media stories focus on "Bug"'s prophetic approach to the idea of "social contagion"--in a play written in 1995, long before conspiracy theories about Covid vaccines and Dr. Fauci. But I also think that this play is strangely insightful about domestic violence.
When we first see Agnes, she is alone in a motel room, thinking about a ringing phone. We learn quickly that the silent caller is (likely) Agnes's ex-husband, Goss. Agnes doesn't have to keep picking up the phone--but she does. It's like she is aware of Goss's power over her. He is going to come calling eventually--whether or not she answers the phone.
One of Goss's big entrances is a "jump scare." Agnes has just hosted Peter Evans in a slumber party. She calls to Peter--"there are clean towels" under the sink. (We think that Peter is preparing to take a shower.) But then the man that emerges from the bathroom is Goss--he has evicted Peter and made himself at home without asking for permission or even notifying Agnes of his plan.
In Goss's last appearance, he is physically assaulted. The moment is shocking, and it's a bit of foreshadowing--in the real world, people often engage in domestic violence almost immediately before a "larger" act of terrorism (a school shooting, a bombing in a public place).
Goss is not the focus of "Bug"--but I admire the care with which Tracy Letts handles Goss's trajectory. I wish that the current production were in a much smaller theater--and I thought the final explosion could have been a bit more emphatic--but, otherwise, I'm pleased to have seen this play.
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