There was standing room only at the Gordon Wilson Hall Theatre last Thursday as students and faculty attended “Cry Havoc,” a play written and directed by Tom Coash.

The play, a combination of a love story between two men in Cairo and the politics and terrorism in the Middle East, emphasized emotional themes like fear and anger.

“Fear always comes with from the unknown, things we don’t know,” Coash said in a panel discussion following the play.

In the director’s note, listed in the program, Coash explained the purpose of “Cry Havoc.”

“This play tries to put a human face on violent political action so that we realize that the people committing these acts are part of our world, part of humanity — not faceless, mindless creatures of some ‘Axis of Evil,'” he said in the note.

At 8 p.m., foreign music played in the background as students mingled in anticipation of the play. Then the lights dimmed, and the music faded.

The play was filled with wit, charm, profanity and nudity. There was a scene when one of the main characters, Nicholas, played by Gravelswitch junior Ryan Lanham, undressed and calmly and confidently delivered his lines.

Some members of the audience did not care for the scene. McLean County freshman Andy Bandiver didn’t like the homosexual side. Bandiver had to come to the play for his English class, which had already read the entire script.

Some people, like Elizabethtown sophomore Ryan Hauenstein, weren’t offended by the play’s homosexual characters.

“It didn’t bother me,” Hauenstein said.

He said he enjoyed the part when Nicholas’ character got naked because of the funny facial expressions — mainly from the men in the room — that seemed to be plastered on the faces of the audience. Hauenstein gave “Cry Havoc” an 8 out of 10 ranking.

“It was one of the better ones I’ve seen here,” he said.

Throughout the two hour performance, students laughed at the creative wit of the characters, paused in quiet suspense during dramatic scenes and gave the play a roaring applause.

After the play, most students left satisfied with their $6 investment.

“I liked it,” said Scottsville freshman Jennifer Murley. “It was different. I liked the quotes they added to give it a sarcastic feel. It was a play on words.”

Reach Zach Mills at [email protected].