Every so often when doing a review, we’ve gotta own up to something from our past. In this case, it’s that we used to be in a cult. In our defense, it was a good cult. Back in college we were part of the American Forensic Association*—"forensic" meaning “having to do with legal arguments,” not CSI casework. So we spent our college weekends traveling around the country from campus to campus, giving speeches we’d written ourselves, and performing short scenes from plays. We were very intense about it.

Performances were judged mostly on subtlety, complexity and intellectual involvement with the material. As a recovering cult member, we totally adored the subtle, thoughtful and beautifully bitter performance by Ken Webster in Thom Pain (based on nothing). This one-man show features a character recounting a painful childhood and the awkward relationships of an uncomfortable adulthood. This is an encore production; last summer Webster was named “Outstanding Lead Actor” by the Austin Critics’ Table partially for his performance in Thom Pain. We can see why—it subtly blew us away!

Clad in a severe three-button black suit and glasses, Webster appears to be actively remembering each of the traumatic moments he’s describing. This is a definite plus for us, since we hate seeing actors rushing through dialogue without thinking about what they are saying. Webster also repeatedly breaks the fourth wall to directly address the audience. The spare script penned by Will Eno is full of good, bitter lines for an actor to sink his teeth into. Our favorite line from Eno’s script might be this description of a relationship: “We had some laughs. Two. Possibly three.”

For us, the show’s only negative feature was in the minimalist set. The only decoration is a life-sized picture of Webster in an outfit similar, but not exactly the same, as the one he’s wearing on-stage. Maybe we took too many “spot the differences” illustrated quizzes during childhood, but we had a hard time fighting our urges to compare and contrast the living man with the photo. Other than that, however, we have absolutely no complaints about this outstanding production.

However, while we were awfully impressed with Thom Pain, we realize that this show might not be for everyone. Our companion—who doesn’t generally like one-man shows—complained about the experience, actively resenting both not being engaged and the feeling of being lectured to. Then again, the show got under his skin, so many folks would count that kind of intense reaction as a success!

You must see Thom Pain if you want to witness the kind of subtle, layered, nuanced performance that isn’t common in the Austin theater scene. Don’t go if you are expecting a sparkly, over-the-top event. It isn’t that kind of show. But if you are the kind of person who listens to The Smiths to cheer yourself up, this show is for you. See it as an antidote to the relentless holiday cheer. Or because “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” is in reruns, and you likely haven’t had the dose of bitterness that many of us need to survive the forcefully cheery holiday season

*—The AFA's National Individual Events Tournament is coming to Austin in April, so you can check out the cult for yourself!