A despondent young artist, Adolf (Burt Grinstead), laments his problematic marriage, pouring his heart out to a new acquaintance, Gustav (Jack Stehlin), at a Swedish seaside resort. But as Gustav pries secrets from the weak-willed husband, smoothly poisoning him against his divorcée wife, Tekla (Heather Anne Prete), we observe tantalizing clues, revealing that this friendly fellow somehow knows too much. Incisively directed by David Trainer, playwright David Grieg's new version of August Strindberg's turn-of-the-century psychological thriller Creditors is a talky play that draws you in with its hypnotic spell. Grinstead is good as the crippled artist, whose crutches and poorly functioning legs are emblematic of his stunted emotionality and ready manipulation. Prete is great as the gallivanting wife, as she willfully misunderstands her husband when he confronts her with trumped-up accusations. Stehlin is phenomenal as the older man harboring dark motives, though his vindictive agenda is revealed before the play's devastating if melodramatic conclusion. The character itemizes his justification in a blistering tirade and your sympathies waver toward him — just for a moment. Bitterly cynical but engrossing, Creditors is strictly for those who enjoy an intellectual argument spiked with misogyny and cyanide.

Wednesdays-Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Starts: Oct. 11. Continues through Nov. 17, 2013

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