The Imagery, Feelings, and Senses in The Man in the Ring

In my opinion, The Man in the Ring´s portrayal of the inner workings of a man suffering from dementia and the flashbacks of his past accomplishments and mistakes was on point to an extent that I´ve never seen communicated on a stage before.

The actor who played the older version of Emile was outstanding. When he was rolling on the floor screaming from a Vietnam-esque flashback of beign beaten by homophobes with baseball bats, his screaming sounded so real it felt genuinely disturbing for me to watch. In fact, everything down to his manurisms when interacting with Luis convey a clear image of an older man losing touch with reality. Also, the transition of younger Emile becoming more like older Emile, while done very simply, was executed flawlessly.

The smaller sized cast, to my surprise, played to the plays strengths as well, taking complete control of the fact that the majority of the play is made up of flashbacks featuring the few people who Emile actually met and bonded with in his life. Actors reprising roles, such as the three reporters being actors who had already played different parts in the play and (<<SPOILER>>the conveyance of Benny Jr. looking like his father by making the same actor play them  (<<SPOILER>>) both work very well, especially when considering Emile´s deteriorating state of mind and failure to remember the faces of people other than those important in his life.

When I originally heard that The Man in the Ring´s main character would be afflicted with mild dementia and had received feedback from professionals of the subject, I became afraid that the play would focus more on showcasing an accurate stage portrayal of dementia than showcasing Emile´s story. My concerns were quickly proven wrong. While older Emile´s dementia is significant to the play´s story, it doesn´t drive it forward, nor does it become too dominant. In fact, one of the biggest ironies of the play is Emile being able to recall his entire past up to the present, but being unable to remember word sequences or the places his clothes should go. This underlying detail, in my opinion, displays Emile´s true inner workings and keeps him unique from any other media portrayal of dementia; while his mind may be falling apart on the outside, he´s still the same person on the inside.