That’s a Sick Play

Will Eno’s play The Flu Season is not so much about prevention or cures as it is about taking your medicine — and in the season of artificially inflated demands, sentiments and wishes, a good dose of The Flu Season is exactly what your battered system needs. The plot doesn’t really unfold; instead, it revises itself right onstage, as sideline observers Prologue and Epilogue watch the main characters, Man and Woman, meet in a mental hospital, fall in love and then lose one another. But Prologue and Epilogue don’t merely observe. They comment on the story, offering criticism and critique, addressing the audience and one another. Nothing in the story of Man and Woman seems to come to a definite end, merely a stopping point. But this time of year often calls for faith, or at least good will — maybe if you believe their love story works out in the end, it really does. This difficult-to-swallow bit of meta-theater may not appear palatable, but it is good for what ails you. The Tin Ceiling Theatre Company presents The Flu Season at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday (December 8 through 17) at the Tin Ceiling (3159 Cherokee Street; 314-374-1511 or www.tinceiling.org). Tickets are $8 at the door.
Fridays-Sundays. Starts: Dec. 8. Continues through Dec. 17