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thursday

A single twist of a light bulb cues the climax of Argentinean playwright Carlos Pais’ Guachos (Who Am I Anyway?). It’s appropriate that Pais uses electricity as a metaphor to tie a neat bow on the proceedings—his characters spend what seems like an eternity untangling their own convoluted personal histories before discovering a conversational conduit in their shared upbringing as orphans. Fans of Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker may recognize a familiar conceit or two in Guachos (Who Am I Anyway?), especially the notion of the inhospitable environment as supplementary character and the use of pregnant pauses to accentuate dialogue. Still, Pais’ otherwise unflinching portrait of the figuratively homeless is infused with an array of light touches, such as itinerant electrician Puyo (Mario Marcel, who also directs) rattling off a list of his name’s many comical homophones to young writer Patricia (a lively Anabel Marcano)—a reminder that identity owes as much to what we ascribe to ourselves as what we’re born with. (In Spanish with English surtitles.) The play runs Thursday through Saturday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. to Saturday, June 17, at Gunston Arts Center’s Theater II, 2700 S. Lang St., Arlington. $20–$25. (703) 548-3092. (Nick Green)