Learning from History in ‘Icons/Idols: In The Purple Room’ (Review)
The Byzantine Choral Project takes us to a forgotten era in this audio installation
I stand eagerly at the door, as I prepare to enter a theatre space for the first time in over a year.
It is a moment of anticipation, of returning to a world that is both so similar and yet different to our own. In these walls, stories are waiting to be told. Lives are ready to be shared. Tragedy is set to unfold. The real world can wait. Now is the time to be transported away, to leave this moment, and to enter another existence. It is a ritual I have sorely missed.
Staurakios, Chief Eunuch to the Emperor’s son, whispers in my ear, across the sands of time. “I am giving you permission to enter the palace now.” I push through the doors and into the Byzantine Empire.
“The Iconoclastic Wars are over, but only so long as the losers keep living by the winners’ rules. No one publicly prays with an icon anymore, but tensions are rising again and the Emperor himself, Constantine V, is troubled.”
Icons/Idols: In the Purple Room is advertised as a choral drama and immersive installation. Set in 768 CE, the show follows the true story of a young Athenian orphan, Irene, thrust into the limelight of the Byzantine Empire, as she is chosen to marry the emperor, and we follow her during a tumultuous time of history. Religious Icons had gone between being worshiped and demonized for generations. A small token, intended to bring one closer to God, suddenly becomes one of the most dangerous items in all the empire, when the empress herself holds firm to it.
For the past five years, the Byzantine Choral Project has been developing Icons/Idols, a tetralogy of choral plays uncovering the secret history of the “purple empresses” as they ascend in a society with deep animosity towards female rule. The arrival of the COVID-19 pandemic led the company to create an audio drama adaptation of play one, Irene, and this immersive installation Icons/Idols: In the Purple Room.
I download the 40 minute mp3 file to my phone and make sure that my headphones are suitably charged for this experience. The art of song is vital to the byzantine church, and so vital to our story, with the entire play resembling an oratorio. Divine singing encircles the listener, as the voices of characters whisper straight into the ear. Of course, it is not the same as hearing these voices perform the wonderful harmonies live, but it is beautiful nonetheless.
As I begin to explore the temple in front of me, with the beautiful chant in my ears, I scour my brain for whatever tidbits of historical trivia I can find. I must admit, the history of the Byzantine Empire is not one of my specialties. It is an era of history that I’m sure was ticked off at some point during school, but this show encourages the listener to engage further with this unique time period. I will willingly admit to having spent several hours in the rabbit holes of Wikipedia post-show, as the work ignited a curiosity within me to discover more about this era. If that were to be the sole goal of the Byzantine Choral Project, to engage and educate a new audience, they have certainly succeeded with this writer.
The eunuch who guided me into the theatre, guides me through the rest of the piece, acting as a narrator for the journey. I am led to various stations to listen to the furthering developments of Irene’s story over the course of several decades. The birth of her son. Her fall from grace as her icons are discovered. Her triumphant and tyrannical return to power. I would give a spoiler warning, but in fairness, you’ve had 1300 years to get caught up. It is a story of tragedy and hope, of female empowerment, and of the struggles that ensue.
To be perfectly clear, the musical score for this show is truly tremendous. Grace Oberhofer has composed a truly fantastic acapella score, sung by an entirely female (cis and trans) and non-binary ensemble. The music is instantly recognizable as being inspired by the Byzantine Empire, with choral movement and harmonies which were a delight for this music teacher to listen to. It has a gorgeous ability to evoke the sacred and the spooky all at once. It has been expertly sound designed and mixed, presumably remotely, and I have enjoyed going back to the material to listen to it again post-show.
Having said this the story flows at quite a pace, with not quite enough time for the audience to get from one vignette to the next, which is a shame as the compelling story isn’t given the space it needs as we move from space to space. Once or twice instructions of where to go next seem to be not quite in line with the space around me. I applaud the team for their ability to mix the audio remotely in a time like this, but perhaps this is what has led to the occasional lack of synchronicity with the space.
The set design of Icons/Idols: In the Purple Room is a mixed bag, which for an immersive art installation is particularly evident, as they are the focal point for the entire experience. The theatre is curated to feel like a byzantine temple, with items placed around in alcoves for audiences to explore (when prompted). There are some excellent backdrops, lovely objects, and nice lighting design to be found, but an overreliance on brown packaging tape as a thematic throughline makes space feel a little cheap. Seats are available at most stations, and a step-free route is offered for those who need it.
Found in the middle of the theatre lies the purple room, one of the largest set pieces of the show. Surrounded by deep purple curtains is a double bed with two large televisions suspended above it. The two screens play a loop of two gigantic eyes, staring unendingly against the dark background. The bed is unmade, and the sheets of the bed are bloody. Several scenes of the audio drama take place with the audience looking straight at this tableau, a room that holds much importance to the narrative. It is a nice centerpiece to the show, quite a haunting sight.
So then, imagine my disappointment to see that two Roku Controllers are lying on the sheets as well, seemingly discarded after turning the TVs on. I don’t mean to gripe, and I don’t want to come across as too harsh, but talk about a way to ruin an immersive atmosphere, by having 21st-century paraphernalia littered on the set of an otherwise 8th-century room.
I wished that a stage manager had done a quick sweep of the space before audiences arrived. While a steward is in place to help guide audiences, pointing in the direction confused patrons might need to go, but as she sits in a lovely modern floral dress, she sticks out just like the two remotes. Her role is important, she certainly has to be there, but she serves as another distraction to the piece. It’s a simple fix, just give the steward a simple costume/robe, call her a “priestess” and it would immediately help to solidify and maintain the world that the show is working hard to create.
It is these small details that help to transform a piece of theatre, particularly for immersive work, and on this occasion, these relatively small missteps really took me out of the world that the audio is trying so hard to create. In addition to the art of world-building, in a post-2020 world, immersive theater-makers will of course be judged by their safety protocols with regards to the virus. Particularly for those who are on the first wave of shows returning, eyes will be focused on this important aspect of show safety. It is here, I am sorry to report that Icons/Idols: In the Purple Room fails.
There were no health screenings/temperature checks at the performance we attended, admittedly a press preview and we were the first in the space, but vital nonetheless. The theatre has implemented a staggered entry time, with 5 minutes between audience groups entering, which I hopefully assume will be small group sizes (there were only groups of 2 at our performance). The New Ohio Theatre is not a huge space, but the set design has separated the space into alcoves for each portion of the audio to play in, some of which are small and enclosed, already a red flag in a “post-COVID” world.
To make matters far worse, the navigation of the space is not subsequent, but instead, there are several occasions of doubling back through and to prior stations. This of course means going straight into the proximity of other audience members who are in their own sequence of events. This includes a small 3-foot walkway that has seats for weary audience members already there as an obstruction. It is a baffling, and potentially dangerous choice, one which just appears to have not been thought through by the creative team. This is a key structural issue to the design of the show, which I cannot fathom. Perhaps they have to “see it” to know what it looks like, but the creators have to take more time to really consider how the audience will move through space, particularly at this time.
I was quite disturbed to read that the theatre will be hosting up to 20 audience members in this space, with the show format that is currently in place. There is simply no way that sufficient distance could be implemented, even with the best will in the world, and assuming that audience members will be responsible. The spaces within the space are too small, and even with staggered starts, there is no way to avoid being next to other audience members at certain times during the show.
I, like so many of us, can not wait to return to the world of theatre. To be able to return to the spaces that transport us to faraway places is a joy I have longed for. But if immersive shows are to return, I firmly believe that safety protocols should not just be met, but be the primary design principle of the piece.
Once this is in place, the choices surrounding structure and narrative can not help but be affected. This is where I fear that in their eagerness to return to the theatre space, the company has let itself down somewhat. In the Purple Room has excellent potential, with a stunning score telling an intriguing story, but in the eagerness to return to the theatre perhaps there are more logistical things that really should have been considered.
It is of vital importance, for the entire community, that we not have any “black sheep” experiences who ignore these principles, which could permanently taint the reputation of our loved medium, intentionally or not. As we progress into a new era of immersive creation, a post-pandemic world, it is of the utmost importance that every aspect of safety, for cast, crew, and audience alike, be a constant thread.
In studying our history, we witness the mistakes of the past, and we learn from them. My sincere hope is that as we move forward into the future, we continue to learn.
Icons/Idols: In the Purple Room runs through May 22 at the New Ohio Theatre in Manhattan. tickets are $20.
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