Thundering drums echo through the theater as a slow curtain rises to reveal an abandoned building withered by storm and age. A priest is followed by a humble wood cutter who begs the holy man to return to the village he abandoned. Interrupted by a crazed wigmaker, they tell the story of a murder that took place that has three different versions.

This is the beginning of the Bakersfield College show, “Rashomon,” directed by Kim Chin. The story unfolds of how a well-known bandit, Tajomaru, played by Keith Silvas, fooled a samurai, Takahiro, played by Vincent Cruz, by enticing him with valuable swords for sale. The bandit ties the samurai to a tree and then rapes his wife, Kinume, played by Natasha Spickenreuther, as he helplessly watches.

The real question was who killed the samurai and how. The bandit claims he did after fighting him relentlessly. The wife claims she did after her husband refused to look at her, and the husband, who is channeled by a medium, claims he killed himself after his wife gave herself to the bandit and ordered her husband killed.

Which one is right? None of them. The wood cutter reveals that the truth after confessing to witnessing the murder. It turns out that the wife gave herself to the bandit who then begged and pleaded with her to come with him. The wife will only go with him if the bandit kills the husband. With the husband untied he is not surprised at his wife’s actions claiming she has looked at other men and has probably cheated before.

As the bandit and husband joke, the wife reveals that both men are cowards and have never really fought in a battle. She pins the two against one another who engage in one of the most comical fight scenes to ever grace the stage. It ends with the husband falling on his sword and dying as the other two run away.

The show was visually entertaining with a well-decorated set and remarkable costumes. The channeling of the medium was equipped with smoke and an echoing ghost voice that slithered through the crowd.

The play was not without faults. Some of the dialogue seemed to drag with actors appearing to be forcing lines. While the sword fight between the husband and bandit, in the bandit’s version, was rather well choreographed it had moments that seemed slow and unrealistic.

Overall, I left the theater laughing with the image of the bandit’s pants falling after a supposed attack.

The show was well worth seeing, with a group of relatively novice actors were able to pull off such a performance.