The Croquet Player

By: Darryl Reilly

“If we do not obey the rules what becomes of civilization?” says an English grande dame to her adult dependent nephew. He is concerned about the state of the world, “Who the hell do these little dictators think they are!” he says referring to Hitler, Stalin, and Mussolini.

These lines of dialogue are from playwright Kris Kouros’ freewheeling stage adaptation of H.G. Wells’s otherworldly and politically metaphorical novella The Croquet Player. It was published in 1936 having been written under the influence of the Spanish Civil War and expresses Wells’ anxiety over the rise of fascism.

Mr. Kouros maintains Wells’ characters, basic plot, and themes, but resets the time period to May 10, 1940, at the novella’s South of France’s second-rate spa hotel location, the lawn has crab grass! There is now the queasiness of the impending German invasion with added references to Noël Coward, The Windsors, FDR, and Winston Churchill. A zesty and playful male same sex attraction is additionally depicted.

Kouros has taken this obscure work of fiction and expertly crafted it into a roaring good yarn for the theater. Foster Hirsch is the literary advisor and dramaturg. The dialogue is witty, the structure is well-made, and it is interwoven with fantastical nods including “a vicious virus.”

Wealthy Miss Frobisher is a middle-aged world-class champion croquet player who travels with her 33-year-old nephew Georgie. He plays with her for practice, is snobbish and troubled as his mother committed suicide. “I am smitten!” Georgie announces during his narration when he encounters the alluring English Dr. Finchatton whom we later learn has exceptional pecs; matter of fact romantic sparks fly between the two men.

The play flashes back to Dr. Finchatton’s unsettling time in the rural English village of Cainsmarsh. Residents inexplicably have become violent toward each other. Finchatton was traumatized by witnessing off-putting events there and is at the hotel under the care of the noted psychiatrist Dr. Norbert.

These incidents are spun out with comedic, dramatic, and horrific flare. The Croquet Player has been given a vivid production and is performed by a sparkling cast.

With his Noël Coward-style clipped and snappy speech pattern, Marcel-type coif, and animated physicality, the lean and beaming Daniel Yaiullo is an ingratiating whirlwind as Georgie. While veering from comic to serious, and when narrating, reacting, or observing, Yaiullo commands attention. His haughty aria on the primacy of cream over milk in coffee is priceless.

Mustached Brian Vincent’s everyman charm informs his endearing characterization of Dr. Finchatton. Mr. Vincent’s majestically delivers several terror-filled monologues with chilling force. His and Yaiullo’s sensual chemistry is hilariously exhibited when Yaiullo teaches Vincent how to play croquet while standing behind him as they hold a mallet together. This finely choreographed bit is lightheartedly and suggestively erotic; “Grab the shaft!”

Dithery, fluty voiced, imperious, and embodying Golden Age of Hollywood grand character acting in the tradition of Edna May Oliver is the riotous Christine Weiss as Miss Frobisher; she also brings emotional depth to the role. The veteran performer Ms. Weiss is equally impactful as a vicar’s taciturn wife. Switching from deadpan to twinkling, John Barilla is uproarious as a put upon creaky French waiter. Mr. Barilla is later eerie as the spindly vicar.

Initially benevolent, the towering Kevin Orton eventually reveals Dr. Norbert’s ominousness. He turns out to be a covert Communist Party kingpin; Mr. Norton supremely delivers a Shavian-style political diatribe. Cheery Trevor Crane is stalwart as a pivotal museum curator.

Wafting gales of white smoke, grotesque shadow imagery reminiscent of the original film Nosferatu mingled with kinky passages, and an atmosphere of dread, are among the theatrical flourishes master director Joe John Battista employs in The Croquet Player’s Hammer Films-type scary sequences. During the drawing room comedy portions Mr. Battista achieves exquisite rapid pacing.

Production and scenic designer Mark Marcante and scenic Lytza Colón offer a glorious, spacious, and period-detailed authentic depiction of the hotel’s façade and expansive lawn. This configuration then arrestingly serves as the creepy marsh village due to Alex Bartenieff’s sensationally moody lighting design. Otherwise, there is artful brightness. Weiss’ 1930’s-style costume design is resplendent, particularly Yaiullo’s gleaming sleek white-themed ensemble and her own elegant attire. At the performance under review the production was efficiently overseen by stage manager Sayma Karim.

The Croquet Player is an ambitious, unique, and scintillating entertainment.

H.G. Wells’s The Croquet Player (through April 4, 2026)
Theater for the New City, 155 First Avenue, in Manhattan
For tickets, visit www.theaterforthenewcity.net
Running time: two hours including one intermission