Matt Bader uses the Silly Willie Gambit, an actual Chess opening, to establish the setting of and basis of his absurdist play, The Silly William Gambit, with Bader starring as both Silly William and Bum Fiddler. He uses the chance encounter with Bum Fiddler on a train going to either Hell or Philadelphia (or are they one in the same?) as the initial setting. A chess game and a relationship ensue which may or may not be happening in reality. William assumes that Bum has little of no chess skill and easily defeats him with the Silly Willie Gambit. The balance of the play is varying encounters with Bum in different settings, almost always resulting in a game between Bum and William.

Bader is using some rather archaic and esoteric terms in the meat of this play’s narrative. The Silly Willie Gambit is an actual chess opening designed to confuse and easily defeat less experienced and more impulsive opponents. The thought is that opponents will abandon a reasoned approach in search of short term gains that result in their quick destruction. Bum Fiddler (bumfiddler) is an archaic English term that references one who is either a lecher, especially a sheriff bailiff in charge of collecting debts, or a simple busybody. Bader is throwing a pretty sophisticated challenge to his audience. He does not seem to demand knowledge of these obscure references, but prior knowledge would bring a more complete immediate, intricate, and nuanced understanding of his play.

William’s journey through life with Bum Fiddler may or may not represent a battle with the devil or death or just a guy he met on the train, or maybe all three. The story passes through places where both seem to be alive or are, at one time or the other, deceased. The pace that Bader follows is frenetic and it seems that he encourages the audience’s confusion watching Silly William. The same confusion that William experiences telling his tale. It is an interesting approach – writing something that is so terribly complicated that the author and performer wants to make impossible to follow,

It would have been interesting if director Justin Jager (whose performance in “piss” is extraordinary) would have gotten Bader to slow down. The play, under those circumstances, might have transformed from absurdist comedy to absurdist drama. The flaws in the narrative would have laid themselves bare, but that exposure may have revealed a serious discussion about the battles life presents us with and how we either overcome or succumb.

Silly William, as Bader now performs it, shows the tremendous skill that he possesses. But I, for one, would love to explore the danger and sadness so close to the surface, but currently left hidden, not by words, but performance.