Show & Tell Posting #2 - The Clean House by Sarah Ruhl

The Clean House, written by Sarah Ruhl, is the play I chose to read and write about on my blog. It was written in 2004 and premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre. This play can be found in the November 2004 issue of American Theatre magazine.

Lane, a doctor, hires Matilde to be her live-in maid. Matilde spends much of her time thinking of the perfect joke. Virginia, Lane’s sister, visits Lane's home while she’s not there, and she and Matilde make an agreement to let Virginia secretly clean the house, since she actually likes to. One day, while they are folding laundry, they find a pair of underwear that are not Lane's, and grow worried that Charles, Lane's husband, might be having an affair. Right then, Lane comes home and reveals that Charles is indeed having an affair with an older woman who’s his patient, Ana. At the end of the first act, Charles and Ana arrive at Lane's house. The second act begins with the surgery and the story of how they fell in love. We are then back to the end of act one. Charles and Ana apologize to Lane. Ana shortly becomes very ill, and Charles makes an excursion to Alaska to find a tree with healing properties. Upon visiting Ana, Lane knows her cancer is back. Lane takes Ana into her home to care for her. Ana knows she will die soon but wants to die before Charles gets home. Matilde whispers the perfect joke to her, and Ana dies gently, laughing. Charles returns, grieving.

One interesting dramaturgical choice made by Ruhl was to have Matilde be Brazilian and Ana be Argentinean. When they first meet, they speak each others language to one another, with slight variations and accents. I believe Ruhl did this in order to create a connection between the two and therefore more of an initial conflict between Lane and Ana. Lane feels very inferior to Ana and now she does not even have the same bond with her maid as Ana does, although later in the play she forgives Ana and cares for her. 

Another interesting choice I found was in the set design. Both of the houses were integrated into one. I think this also had to do with the unity of the separation and the togetherness of the occurrences. Even while Ana and Charles are enjoying time out on the balcony, they are still a part of Lane's life, because she doesn't stop thinking about them and she can't get Charles out of her head. Her home is still his after all.

I found this play very interesting, and it turned out a lot better than I had expected. I would really like to see a stage production to see the magic played out.