‘Wallpaper’ Shows Fall Into Madness

A remarkable solo performance by Jill Remez vividly evokes the historical tragedy of creative women stifled by social convention in “The Yellow Wallpaper” at the Rose Theatre.

Adapted by Remez and director Kerry Noonan from feminist author Charlotte Perkins Gilman’s semi-autobiographical 1890 short story, this increasingly intense monologue presents snapshots at various stages of a nameless woman’s mental odyssey of self-definition. The piece takes place during a summer retreat intended to cure her “overstimulated” nervous condition.

Early on, the presence of the woman’s unseen physician-husband looms larger than her own, as she constantly defers to his self-serving diagnosis and confesses feeling guilty about her insufficient gratitude for his generosity. Despite her suspicion that writing would help relieve the maddening “press of ideas” that torment her, she is unable to forsake her proscribed role as wife and mother for unseemly literary pursuits.

Noonan’s staging advantageously employs the artifice of the single-actor genre to further our sense of this woman’s isolation. With chilling irony, Remez’s assured performance guides us to the inevitable conclusion that this woman’s only recourse is to turn irretrievably inward. Like King Lear, it’s only through a descent into madness that she can lay authentic claim to the personal pronoun I --an awareness bought at a terrible price.

* “The Yellow Wallpaper,” Rose Theatre, 318 Lincoln Blvd., Venice. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 2 p.m. Ends June 4. $12. (310) 392-6963. Running time: 1 hour.