Pound

At rise the overbearing, 73 year-old Ezra Pound is confronted by Mary Polley, a young psychiatrist who aspires to help the man who has been labeled “incurable." Pound dismisses her, as he has so many psychiatrists, but when he learns of his imminent release, he experiences an inexplicable dread that drives him to Mary for help. Mary embarks on a course of treatment that, at first, seems merely peculiar and perhaps justified given the short time in which she has to work. But, soon her techniques become disturbing, visiting extreme guilt upon Pound for a lifetime of manipulation and abuse. Then, after reducing Pound to almost childlike vulnerability, Mary reveals her true purpose. The play, Pound, challenges us with questions about whether words can be as powerful as actions, whether revenge can be just, and, ultimately, whether sanity is possible when we’re made to see the world as it is and not as we would have it.