There is one very, very good reason to see “Human Things” by Joshua Owen.  That would be Victoria Clark.

There are two elements at work here.  The first one being that Clark’s skill as an actor is so refined that she disappears while you watch and leaves her character in her place.  The other reason is that Joshua Owen has given Clark text that lets her make unexpected choices.  The writing here is precise and covers substantial ground in a few sentences.

And there is a lot of ground to cover.  A married couple, Margaret (Rebeca Robles) and Greg (Ben Rosenfeld) are on an unidentified island in an unidentified ocean that seems to be near exactly nothing.  Margret is gathering data on unidentified birds whose population is dwindling quickly.  Greg is along for the ride.  We meet them mid-argument as Margaret returns from sleeping on the beach all night.  She arrives carrying a healthy load of pissed-off because her husband did not come and find her.  As a matter of fact, he never looked.  Why Margret did not drive back to their abode is never made clear.  She is the one who had the car after all.  This argument is fast and repetitive.  It drives them to have sex out of boredom.  Not very arresting fodder.

Things pick up when Bo (Michael Mulheren) and his wife Darce (Victoria Clark) arrive.  These two folks of a certain age have been together for decades.  They are on an intended trip around the world in a sailboat (I think) and have had an accident off the coast of the island.  They banged up against a coral reef, and Darce has hurt her foot.  Bo arrives first, and after a tremendous amount of verbiage, he gets the first aid kit he came for many minutes ago.  He departs to tend to Darce and bring her back.  He does, and the whole piece lightens up.

Darce is so immersed in the moment that she has no secure boundaries and doesn’t consider anyone else does either.  She is not mean.  She hasn’t a mean bone in her body.  She is, however, curious in her observations and questions.  When Margaret says she is studying the dwindling bird count, Darce asks, “Are you going to save them?”  When Margaret asks why life is so bad, Darce tells her, “Because you’re alive.” Simple questions.  Simple answers.  Each is an attention-getter, and one wonders why Mr. Owen did not stop and rest longer on these nuggets.

Instead, the landscape of the story remains as vague as this couple’s location.  The actors are all in.  They are 100%, every one.  Each does the best they can with what they have been given by Owen and the director Rory McGregor.  In the end, however, these characters feel incomplete.  As if what they are saying is fish food sprinkled on the surface of the story.  We never get a deep dive.  This story has no north star. It is traveling point to point with no apparent destination.  Even the surprise special effects in the second act don’t close the deal.  It is drifting from start to finish.

Human Things, written by Joshua Owen and directed by Rory McGregor.

Victoria Clark, Rebeca Robles, Ben Rosenfield, and Michael Mulheren.

Scenic Design by Jacob Bers, Lighting Design by Reza Behjat, Costume Design by Amanda Roberge, Sound Design by Ian Scot, and Props Design by Thomas Jenkeleit.

At The West End Theatre through Sunday, October 18

Tickets On Sale Now at www.HumanThingsPlay.com