"Double Takes"
Planet Ant Theatre
Hamtramck, Mich.
Seen March 8, 2025; through March 22
In a world where people die in pairs, suicides have double consequences. That’s the premise of “Double Takes,” which made its premiere Friday at Hamtramck’s Planet Ant Theatre, written and directed by Michele Harte.
The dark comedy puts suicide – its methods, motives and effects – center stage, tackling the subject matter head-on, with an ultimate message that life is worth living. It is playing at Planet Ant until March 22.
The story opens with a young woman preparing to hang herself. Kayti Shelton’s Beatrix, “Big B,” is stopped only seconds beforehand when her sister Grouper enters the room, performed by May Planet. An argument ensues, where – among other things – Grouper points out that in taking her own life, B is sentencing an innocent life to death as well. She then persuades B she just needs a girlfriend to be happier and convinces her to join a speed dating event.
Meanwhile, Lucille, performed by Skylar Courtney, also wants to kill herself but is seeking out a partner who shares her desire, so they can die together without killing an innocent. She decides a speed dating event is the best way to go about it. She minces no words when sharing her “dating” intentions as she moves from person to person. She and B meet, and their planning begins.
Over the next few days, the two brainstorm ways to create a simultaneous death to guarantee success. They ponder the effectiveness of electrocution through water, jumping off a building, overdosing, blades, all while keeping their plans a secret from Grouper and Lucille’s best friend Jon, performed by Alex Aho.
As the women spend time together, outer barriers break down, feelings emerge, and a mutual confession of their motives starts to put a wrench in their plans.
The premise of “Double Takes” is intriguing. While suicide technically involves the self-killing of one life, setting it in a world where it must take another hits home the reality that suicide affects many more people than the one performing the action, even to the point of figuratively “killing” others. Presenting it as a comedy offers a counterbalance to an otherwise dire subject matter, which still takes the topic seriously without making the audience depressed for an hour.
While “Double Takes” has a lot of potential, its Planet Ant execution left much to be desired. As I heard Harte’s dry, sarcastic writing, parts of me wanted to laugh. But the five-person cast lacked a sense of comedic timing, often rushing through words without any pauses or dynamics for the humor to hit home.
When Lucille enters the scene, she is a bitter, snarky, no-nonsense woman on a mission. But Courtney’s monotone, mile-a-minute dialogue offers no nuance with limited change as her character softens to a poignant, dramatic ending.
Shelton’s Big B, by contrast, is not convincing as someone looking to end her life. While not every suicide victim outwardly presents the extent of their depression, B comes across as just bland. There is no energy or overt “happiness” someone might present to cover up nefarious plans. Even at her most tender moments of confession, we don’t feel the depth of her pain.
B’s motive for killing herself – not dissimilar to Lucille’s reason – also seems incongruous based on her opening scene actions. It would seem to be in more alignment with the character’s values if she shared Lucille’s plans to begin with.
Several scenes in the play feature Lucille’s visits with her therapist Dr. Jibbet, played by Génesis Mancheren Ab'äj. In these scenes, the therapist is essentially presented as useless, whose go-to solutions are limited to “How does that make you feel?” and “Read my book,” further emphasized by them charging her for their full sessions even when Lucille leaves after a few minutes.
It is unclear why these scenes are included in the story. In her sessions, Lucille blatantly tells Dr. Jibbet of her plans and leaves soon after with an air of indifference. If the scenes are meant to show that Lucille hasn’t fully given up on life and is seeking last-minute help, it doesn’t come across. It also suggests that therapists are money-driven, ineffective narcissists, which seems counterintuitive for a show whose message is to encourage suicidal people that life is worth living, which often requires the assistance of a mental health professional.
The show’s ending – like most other love stories – is fairly predictable but still satisfying. I enjoyed the story arc and how love, communication and compassion can help others get perspective and lift them out of darkness. Its climax, however, is much too rushed. I would have loved to see more dialogue between the women, more convincing and a greater sense of risk, which could have created a strong poignant moment that – after an hour of comedy – would highlight the harsh reality of suicide and the show’s message that suicide isn’t worth it.
“Double Takes” isn’t for everyone. The show portrays suicide attempts and discusses a variety of different methods, which may be triggering for some, especially for those who do not understand or appreciate dark humor. But for those who can see beyond the dry jokes to the real message behind them, there is real potential for something impactful.
