Good grief: 'You Stupid Darkness!' combats the world's damp demise with compassion, laughs ... and donuts * Oregon ArtsWatch

"Led by an improbably enthusiastic and very pregnant manager, Frances (a delightful Denise Hoey), the team takes calls from people who are dealing with everything from relationship dramas to the fact that the world is slowly coming to a soggy end. The dark windows of the dilapidated call center are besieged by buckets of rain, and sirens sound as the water-blurred red and blue lights of emergency vehicles flash by."

"Reflecting this dismal scenario, the office itself looks defeated. Julianne Bodner's set design includes mildewed posters taped to water-stained walls and a faded rug on the floor. It's the kind that's printed with roads and houses and barns around which preschoolers push toy cars - only this one looks as if it had been dug out of a dumpster. Meanwhile, as the volunteers report for duty, they hang their rain jackets and gas masks near the door."

"In the background, a screen also displays an encouraging word of the week. "Generosity" is one, punctuated with three exclamation points. Yes, even at the end of the world, people need to savor the sly pleasure of irony. And donuts, something Frances cheerfully insists on supplying for her crew, thoughtfully bringing both cream and jam varieties. Similarly, when Angie (an ebullient Angie Tennant) reaches six months of working at the center, Frances marks the occasion with a cake and glossy party hats."

Four volunteers work a weekly late-night shift at a helpline called Brightline while the world slowly succumbs to flooding and decay. An improbably enthusiastic, very pregnant manager named Frances leads the team and supplies donuts and small celebrations to keep morale. The call center features water-stained walls, mildewed posters, a faded children’s rug, and hanging gas masks and rain jackets. Background screens display ironic inspirational words like "Generosity!!!" Callers bring ordinary relationship dramas alongside existential crises, and younger staff note the decline in visible pregnancy as part of the bleak, often humorous landscape.

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