The Counter was severely underestimated initially, but I left with a new point of view about the expected vs. unexpected of life. One of the main points throughout the play was that Paul, the lead male role, wanted to experience a surprise in his life because he was too numb and comfortable with the life he has been living. The emotional and physical exhaustion he was left with after taking care of and losing his mother and brother had become unbearable. After experiencing so much grief, Paul’s life became predictable and he wanted to gain back at least an ounce of control. To him, the solution was a radical approach, specifically deciding the way he would die but not when he would go. He transferred partial control to Katie, the female lead role, to gain the surprise element he was missing in life. As a result, the audience was left in suspense, wondering when she would add the poison to the coffee and if she would even do it.

While Paul was playing with his life and letting it hang in someone else’s hands, Katie was frantically going through the motions of her so-called “give up life” or escape fantasy. On the surface, she appeared satisfied with her quaint little life working as a diner waitress in a small town. Deep down, she was nitpicking month-old voicemails and contemplating if her past actions justified the life she has now. She was pulled into quite a situation when she agreed to be friends with Paul and share secrets or tough talks. Little did she know that Paul would be criticizing her life and implying that she was not familiar with the concept of having to take care of someone. The immediate level of aggression from Katie’s voice shocked the audience. Her explanation of her obstacles, such as having to give up the option of children, indicated that she knows what it means to be selfish if it means taking care of yourself.

The repetition of the counter scene emphasized that having the same daily routine could provide a sense of balance, but it could also become mundane. Every morning, Paul would come into the diner and Katie would pour him a cup of coffee. This interaction is what opens the door to the friendship that they develop throughout the play. Had it not been for those tough talks, Paul might have never started to learn Italian and Katie would not have deleted any voicemails. Both characters would have missed out on what the world was offering them, and they needed that extra nudge out the door to remind them that there is a meaning to life and it becomes much warmer when surrounded by friends. 

This entry is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International license.