Tracy Letts' psychodrama Bug has enjoyed a squalidly sexy reputation since its 1996 London premiere.  It's sometimes viewed as unstageable due to naturalistic technical demands, nudity, foul language, drug use, violence, and a spiraling level of intensity beyond the tolerance of ordinary theatergoers.  I attended an early tech rehearsal of Riot to Follow's production with considerable interest.  I'm a fan of the company's undergrad chutzpah, and I wondered how much of the text director Mark Alford would be able to realize.  The answer is "most."

The play opens in an Oklahoma City motel room, where Agnes (Rachel Britten) has been letting herself slide into misery since the disappearance of her son.  She soon meets Peter (Lazlo Steele-best porn name ever), a younger man who may or may not conceal a secret of international proportions.  I shouldn't say more about the plot, except to note multiple meanings of the word "bug."  Able support is provided by Tod Davies, cast against type as Agnes's ex-husband, Jenna Vershen as Agnes's best friend, and Chad Law as Dr. Sweet.  There's nothing sweet about Law's performance, actually; in point of fact, he's so cold he may as well be an android.

If Alford and his scrappy band can't bring you all of Letts' misbehavior, they show enough to justify the play's chaotic conclusion.  Britten and Steele are inspiringly good in a show that often feels like an intimate two-hander.  It's hard to buy Britten as 34, let alone 44 as in the script, but she descends plausibly into stuttering madness.  Steele creates a Peter unlike Michael Shannon's portrayal on stage and screen.  Indeed, Steele's version is unlike any character I've ever seen on stage, wholly original yet utterly believable, even while suffering under Ariana Throne's beautifully icky makeup effects.  As a past Oklahoman, I can vouch for accurate drawls throughout.

You know your tastes.  If Bug is the play for you, then Bug is absolutely the play for you.  Plus it's free!

Bug

Through Nov. 20, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, free
The Evergreen State College, SEM II, C4107, Olympia
360.867.7048]