Posted: Thu., Jan. 25, 2007, 1:34pm PT

Regional

Britannicus

(Loeb Drama Center, Cambridge, Mass.; 556 seats; $76 top)

By Frank Rizzo

Kevin O'Donnell and Joan MacIntosh take on Racine's 'Britannicus' in an American Repertory theater production with contempo overtones.

An American Repertory Theater presentation of a play in one act by Jean Racine, translated by C.H. Sisson. Directed by Robert Woodruff.

Nero - Alfredo Narciso Britannicus - Kevin O'Donnell Agrippina - Joan MacIntosh Narcissus - David Wilson Barnes Albina - Adrianne Krstansky cq Burrhus - John Sierros Junia - Merritt Janson

Sometimes a despotic emperor just has to break from his mommy. Take the not-quite-yet tyrant Nero, who struts and then wilts when faced with the maternal force of Agrippina in A.R.T.'s wild, eclectic take on Jean Racine's 1669 play "Britannicus," about life in the increasingly free-falling Roman Empire.

Racine understood the power of a palace-intrigue story and used it as a subtle cautionary tale when it played before the Sun King in 17th century France. Helmer Robert Woodruff's production is more bold in making connections to contemporary times and the dangers and delusions of unchecked political powers. (For those who still might miss the point, a banner across the back of the stage proclaims, "Empire Creates Its Own Reality.")

Reality -- and perceptions of it -- are entirely relative in a Woodruff production. He creates a setting at once familiar, strange and disconcerting, where the audience is both engaged and removed. In these circumstances the performance style is heightened to the extreme: Characters are stunned into apoplexy, wild with grief, anxious with apprehension. In such a dark and capricious world where there is no safe haven, everyone is on edge.

One does not expect togas in this multimedia take on the verse drama. In Riccardo Hernandez's sleek yet raw chambered set (artfully lit by Christopher Akerlind), the walls have ears (and eyes, too, as surreptitious video cameras project closeups of the characters trying to conceal themselves).

The production's anti-"Masterpiece Theater" approach becomes evident when Nero (Alfredo Narciso) arrives at his bachelor pad in motorcycle gear, strips to shower and fiddles with his electric guitar. But there's more on his mind than regal rock 'n' roll. He covets, kidnaps and blackmails Junia (Merritt Janson), who loves and is betrothed to Nero's half-brother Britannicus (Kevin O'Donnell), the rightful heir to the Roman legacy of He, Claudius.

Racine's focus is on the increasingly unstable Nero as he tries to free himself from his mother (Joan MacIntosh), his advisers and the possible threat of Britannicus. But for Nero it is the dominating mother problem that's most troubling and -- for the audience -- most juicy.

As someone who is looking for "a little less respect and a little more submission," MacIntosh's Agrippina goes full-tilt, playing on every psychosexual weakness of her son like a Stradivarius. It's an audacious perf that at times gets pretty purple, bringing to mind Norma Desmond, Vera Charles and Leona Helmsley. It pays off, however, in her long, powerful speech chronicling a decade of deceit, manipulation and murder that shaped Roman history.

But with this heightened sense of style, some perfs are more effective than others, and sometimes even the best of them fails to resonate for more than a moment. Narciso's Nero manages to have charm as well as command, making him a believable ruler, even as he turns into the compliant son. O'Donnell conveys naive teen earnestness as Britannicus. Jansen is a perpetually traumatized Junia, right emotionally but wrong theatrically for the entire course of the play. And there's little shading in John Sierros' blustering Burrhus, counsel to Nero.

The production marks Woodruff's swansong after getting the heave-ho as a.d. of A.R.T. During his five-year tenure, he created, produced and imported work -- some of the best were the shows he helmed -- that may have been too challenging (or international) for Harvard. His final show here remains true to that authentic theater vision.

Sets, Riccardo Hernandez; costumes, Kay Voyce; lighting, Christopher Akerlind; original music, Alfredo Narciso; sound, David Remedios; video design, Leah Gelpe; production stage manager, Amy James. Opened, reviewed Jan. 24, 2007. Runs through Feb. 11. Running time: 1 HOUR, 45 MIN.