By John Lyle Belden

Indianapolis sees constant production of theatre arts by groups tied not to a place as much to ideas and creative vision. This includes – among others – No Exit, Catalyst Repertory, Q Artistry, Summit Performance, NAATC, Southbank Theatre Company, Theatre Unchained, American Lives Theatre, 4^th Wall, Clerical Error Productions, Betty Rage, Cryptid Entertainment, and Defiance Comedy.

Ankh Productions deserves to be in that conversation.

Having moved on from the sadly now-closed Storefront Theatre, their neon elephant shines for the moment in the Bates-Hendricks neighborhood south of downtown Indy with Ankh’s production of “Non-Traditional Reckless Relations,” a collection of short plays by Jamaal McCray, at Lincoln Lane Coffee Co.

McCray is joined by Ankh co-founder Chandra Lynch, Zachariah Stonerock, and Anna Himes in pieces that explore with raw emotion, wild humor, and entertaining absurdity, how we relate to one another through unusual stress.

It’s too simplistic to compare this to known properties like Marx Brothers, Monty Python, SNL, or In Living Color, yet the same root is under the surface, back to the smiling Greek masks and tall tales around ancient fires. McCray says the title refers to his efforts not to slip into “traditions of mediocrity,” to take stagecraft and “strip(ed) it down to its raw essence.” As Lynch puts it in a Facebook post, “Just the art; pure, alive, unfiltered.”

High artistic goals, indeed. In “NTRR,” we see them making the climb.

This show was written by McCray as the third in a trilogy that started with “Love You Reckless,” last seen in April 2022. (He is still working on Part Two, he said.)

The foursome start with a piece heavy with avant-garde metaphor – confronting directionality, personal preferences, political groupthink, light, and more – which grabs our attention, elicits laughter while provoking thought, and gets us ready to expect practically anything.

This is followed by the next playlet, where Stonerock reads a breakup letter while using the toilet.

Yes, things get a bit crude, with R-rated language at points, but no nudity or sim-sex, so it’s okay for teens and up.

The bare-bones aesthetic, in part from low-budget necessity, concentrates our attention on the actors while employing a few simple props. A chain wrench finds an amazing array of uses.

The humor is never far from far deeper context. Exploring raw emotion and toxicity in relationships gets somehow easier when you’re battling a giant pigeon or stuck on a small boat in shallow water. When you need to fix something, at some point you’re not really talking about the thing before you that you’re repairing.

McCray, Lynch, Stonerock, and Himes all give excellent performances and interact well throughout, showing commitment to the concept and vision.

So, even if you are not planning your lover’s murder, or negotiating with the trash collector, you’ll still find plenty to relate to, and even enjoy, in these “Non-Traditional Reckless Relations.” Performances are Friday through Sunday at 516 Lincoln Street (corner of Lincoln and East Street), Indianapolis. (Note that coffee service will have closed earlier in the afternoon.)

For information and tickets, visit ankhproductions.org.