For years Professor Emeritus Louis Roberts would stand in front of the mirror to shave and one phrase would enter his mind. "John Henry has committed treason against the United States of America."
Finally, he has written a play based on that phrase. The American premiere of "John Henry: A play of Perversity" opened at the McCormack Theater Dec. 4. The student cast and crew rose to the challenge of adapting a British-style humor for an American audience, said Roberts.
"It was a tremendous challenge. This is an extraordinarily complicated piece both in the writing, in the twists and turns of plots, and in the staging," Roberts said.
Roberts credits director Diane Almeida, set designer Ron Nash, and the actors for an "admirable job on a play he characterized as, "a tremendously demanding play."
The play opens with Roberts' haunting line, but rather than treason against the U.S., the play is set in the 1898 fictional Balkan Duchy of Tsardonika. The cast spends its time trying to determine who is John Henry and what, if anything, he has done. This mystery plays out with amorous subplots against a backdrop of war with a number of unexpected staging illusions to catch the eye.
"John Henry" originally opened to raves last spring in Bristol, England and is expected to return to England and then move on to Ireland. It is one of Roberts' 29 original plays, added to his translations and adaptations, which have been produced in 10 different countries.
As the former theater department chair, Roberts says the Umass productions hold a special meaning.
"We are a recognized entity in the theater community," he said, identifying several graduates who have gone on to work in Boston theaters and write for television.
Even with three plays in production, Roberts is working hard on two more he hopes to complete soon.