Review Rundown: The One With Sci-Fi, Horror, and Other Good Stuff
London, LA, NYC, Nashville, St. Louis, Denver, and VR. We get around. TEN REVIEWS!
You saw what the deck said: TEN REVIEWS. Theatre. VR. Installation Art. New Darkfield. Famous murderers. Evil clowns. It’s THAT kind of week.
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Photo by Ahmed Best
Ascension — The Echo Theatre Company
$34; Los Angeles (Atwater Village); Through Nov. 18
Live theatre has been more or less in hibernation for 18 months, dreaming fitful dreams of what it could become once it re-emerges from its cocoon-like pod of Zoom shows. Will it all go back to “normal” or will lessons learned over a year and change of interacting with audiences in new ways alter the live & in-person landscape.
Ascension from writer D.G. Watson and director Ahmed Best takes a bold leap into the brave new world of post-Zoom theatre with a sci-fi tale that takes some big swings that don’t always connect.
Here the audience is able to interact, verbally, with the characters on-stage. There’s a bit of a “group escape room” vibe to parts of the first act as we help Rebel (Charrell Mack) escape her confinement in a hibernation chamber. The show flashes back and forth between present day, near future, and far future with few hiccups largely thanks to the able cast under Best’s direction and the emotionally grounded character beats writer Watson provides.
Sometimes, though, the show reaches a little too far into the awkward interaction mode. Seemingly daring the audience to violate the social contract that keeps everyone in their seats by going meta, all the while relying on the fact that we probably won’t start actively heckling the actors. It brought to mind the image of a Jenga tower with a block unnecessarily purposefully askew that still manages to stand as more are loaded on top.
Despite second act problems — there’s enough ideas in there for two plays, leaving little breathing room at times for the dramatics— the whole of Ascension is a fascinating experiment that dares to ask some big questions both textually and structurally. As the follow up to Under The Freeways of Los Angeles, the production cements The Echo Theatre Company as one to watch in the ongoing evolution of LA’s immersive theatre scene, as they approach introducing the field to a more traditional audience with work that has something to say about the world we live in right now.
— Noah Nelson, Publisher and Podcast Host
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS — 27 degrees
£20; London, UK; Run Concluded
Following a first run in April 2021, 27 degrees re-releases BEHIND CLOSED DOORS, a choose-your-own path around a quiet city block in trendy Spitalfields.
Guided by web interface accessible by mobile phone and headphones, audience members are invited to tour the area to look in on their neighbor’s personal lives — literally. Over three or four adjacent residential streets are several ground-level flats with open picture windows and very active residents. Projections, live actors, art installations, and miniature displays set inside letterboxes are hidden in plain sight, their actions and meanings accompanied by the guide whispering along in your ear.
I don’t know how 27 degrees managed to rent so many ground-floor flats for the same week in such an expensive area (unless perhaps they’re all owned by Christ Church, where the performance starts) but the experience is the dream of every voyeur tourist: open permission to stare into homes in order to admire the furnishings and watch the residents go about their lives. Jewelbox dioramas wink along the streets as the online interface asks me which direction I’d like to go — you can’t hit them all in one visit.
There’s no real audience agency as my choices don’t affect the narrative and the actions of the performances aren’t altered whether there are viewers or not, but the show is playful: looking into a letterbox feels suspicious and invasive and anyone walking by the windows surrounded by viewers would wonder what kind of exhibitionist oddity is going on. The show is fully Covid-safe and the neighborhood is well worth a visit as Spitalfields after dark is a land of neon bouncing off marble; for the processional viewer looking for entertainment while walking off a good meal in Spitalfields, let’s hope BEHIND CLOSED DOORS plans to run again.
— Shelley Snyder, London Curator
Clown Academy — Intruder Escape
$25; Los Angeles (Mid-City); through Oct. 31
Some people are TERRIFIED of clowns. Not me. Oh, they can startle — and Clown Academy definitely had some of the best jump scares I’ve encountered all Spooky Season long — but I’m more intrigued by clowns than scared of them.
Featuring an incredibly well crafted series of small scale set pieces, Clown Academy puts small groups and solo “students” through a deliciously twisted maze filled with some light puzzles and actors who know how to bring the freaky to fore.
It’s not a long experience, and oddly I think it would have taken longer if I had gone with a group — and it would have been a lot more fun with 3–5 friends. Especially if one is a little freaked out by clowns. That would be quite ideal. Like a delicate spider stew…
Where was I? Oh yes.
It’s fun! I’m definitely interested in what Intruder Escape puts together next, especially if there’s something meatier. The scenic chops and the casting team is on point, and in a scenario where constant throughput isn’t an issue I can imagine things really getting wild. As it stands: a great maze that I’m convinced would make an excellent romp for any Halloween crew looking to get their giggles in the grotesque.
— Noah Nelson, Publisher and Podcast Host
Dr. Crumb’s School for Disobedient Pets — Adventure Lab
$75.00 a session; Remote (VR); Ongoing
Listen up, my fellow courageous critters! We’ve received confirmation that Dr. Crumb’s doomsday weapon is nearly complete. We’re sending you in undercover as newly enrolled students at his obedience school. I know many other animals who attended the vile doctor’s school have gone missing. But being my best team of agents, I know there’s no obstacles or puzzles you can’t overcome together.
And so begins an hour of delightfully wacky, zany, and easy-going escape room-like shenanigans in Dr. Crumb’s School for Disobedient Pets. You and up to eight friends with any VR headset (except PSVR) will team up to complete several challenges. Most challenges are timed, adding a welcomed layer of pressure. Additionally, players interact with a whole cast of characters, all of which are performed by one actor.
I absolutely loved playing Dr. Crumb’s. You should stop what you’re doing right now and play it. Each environment is rich in detail and depth, a joy to explore and traverse. The puzzles and challenges are expertly designed to not only make the most of VR, but foster simple and rewarding collaboration between players. There’s also the comedic improvisational genius of the actors in Dr. Crumb’s that make it a must-play. In our session, Max Maliga made every character interaction hilariously memorable and engaging.
I will note those looking for a high level difficulty won’t find it here as Dr. Crumb’s (rightfully so) is for all-ages. Also, with returning after a brief hiatus, it appears not much has changed. While I’m new to Dr. Crumb’s, one of my teammates wasn’t. While the individual challenges appear unchanged, they noted the gameplay intent was clearer along with there being more improvisation and character interactions.
Either way for those new or returning, Dr. Crumb’s remains a pitch-perfect VR experience offering fun, excitement, and laughs.
— Patrick B. McLean, Chicago Curator
EULOGY — Darkfield
£15; London, UK; Oct 6–17 and Nottingham Lakeside, UK; Oct 20–31
In efforts to include and promote new forms of visual storytelling across different media, the BFI’s London Film Festival’s Expanded programme is hosting a show presented in total blackout. Darkfield’s Eulogy appears in a shipping container on the South Bank and its audience barely sees any of it.
Darkfield alumni know that the outstanding audio work the company achieved during the lockdown period can only be improved by experiencing a production the way the company intended: with hand-picked listening equipment. If lockdown pushed companies to spend more consideration on audio design, Darkfield decided to become the gold standard in experiential ASMR. Eulogy delivers only 3 minutes’ visual engagement over 35 minutes of pure audio and kinaesthetic feedback.
Guests are welcomed into individually named capsule cubbies separated by metal grilles roughly 6 feet/1 metre apart and invited to put on a pair of headphones with a microphone. The doors close and there is a brief period where the lights go out — it is shocking how black it is. Two minutes later they come on again with an invitation for anyone with claustrophobia or a fear of the dark to leave.
The performance is similar to a sensory deprivation chamber, with the noise-cancelling headphones blocking out the sounds of your neighbors and the complete darkness. There are points where we can physically feel what’s happening in the narration — no spoilers, there’s no touching but there are sensations. The story is vaguely individualised: the name of my capsule is used often in the narration and there are points where I am asked questions, the answers to which are captured and used but don’t particularly affect the story, I don’t believe.
A repeat ticket would be required to be sure, I feel compelled to pick one up.
— Shelley Snyder, London Curator
EXITS Fort Greene — Dina Vosi, Deneen Reynolds-Knott, Emerie Snyder and Rachel Gita Karp
Free; New York, NY; Run Concluded, Recording Available
An immersive work that relies upon its audience behaving in very specific ways can prove a perilous proposition. EXITS, a new soundwalk in Fort Greene, Brooklyn, falls into that trap more than once — though it still finds moments of beauty along the way.
EXITS begins on the BAM steps, turns down Fort Greene Place, moves through Lafayette Station and finally lands on South Portland Avenue. A guided version performed for small audiences ran Sept 30 — Oct 4, but EXITS can still be experienced solo.
Trying EXITS on your own is the best bet regardless, though the performance did feature one wonderful coup de théâtre. A performer who had smuggled into our group, Marianna McClellan, suddenly leapt up and took control for part of the piece, guiding us from BAM to the (sadly closed) Greene Grape Annex. McClellan brought a sad, mournful energy to that section of the show, simply titled “Annex,” in an entirely silent performance.
Elsewhere, EXITS struggled to lead its audience where it wanted us to go. An opening based around BAM’s DanceAfrica Bazaar intended us to follow along on a worksheet, but no-one in my group figured that out. A section on Greenlight Bookstore encouraged us to go inside and buy a book, but that meant first waiting in a line, which seemed a strange use of our time. And the final chapter hinged on hidden polaroids which no-one realized we were searching for (the guide stepped in to hand them to us).
Still, when we settled at South Portland between Fulton and Lafayette, and as Emerie Snyder’s smart and witty writing on “Ephemeral FM” found its rhythm, I did stop, and look. Really, truly looked at every corner of that gorgeous, fascinating block. I’d never before given a second thought, and now I’ll never see it the same way.
— Joey Sims, New York City Correspondent
The Haunted Tavern: A Dark Pop-Up Cocktail Experience — Rock Star Beer Festivals
$50; Nashville, TN; through Oct 31
There are few things I love more than dark history or stories of the paranormal told in the places where they happened/happen. And that is exactly what Haunted Tavern offers. Upon entering an unassuming building on the side of a quiet Nashville road, you are welcomed in by bar staff committed to making you feel on edge in preparation for an evening of magic and dark storytelling. The real fun begins when you take your seats and are handed a shot. Well, “down the hatch!” you say as your host begins to ascent the staircase to take his place at the front of the room.
What transpires are stories of murder, mystery, and hauntings as your host connects with the spirit of a woman who was murdered right where he stands. With each new story comes a new cocktail, so by the end of the evening, you have enjoyed 4 tales and 4 libations. I was surprised to learn that Haunted Tavern is a traveling show, with new stories and hosts in every city. Based in Florida, they primarily travel the east telling stories and mixing drinks. What you end up with is a fun, informative evening with slight twists and turns and a few surprises.
— Briana Roecks, Social Media Correspondent
Illumination NYC Light Art Festival — Illumination NYC
$35; New York, NY; Run Concluded
The “Under the K Bridge Park” is exactly what its name implies, a new public space development for the local community in Greenpoint underneath the Kosciuszko bridge. Opened only a few months ago, Illumination is one of the first public events to utilize this wonderful new space.
A host of different artists had been curated by Illumination to create works around the theme of light. The underbelly of the bridge is lit up in anticipation of this exciting new festival but it’s a mixed bag, unfortunately. A lit up banana statue simply does not shine as brightly as a large translucent pyramid with video projections. A DJ tries his hardest to get the party pumping, but the mid-October nighttime weather is a tough opponent.
There were two tiers of tickets and those who purchased the $35 VIP passes to the event received an engraved light up wristband, drink tokens, and priority entry. At least 90% of those in attendance had these VIP bands, many of whom were families who seemed to stay for a brief amount of time. It was disconcerting to see so few non-VIP ticket holders in the space, which I hope was an unintentional happenstance.
The most interesting project was a short, lit-up “fault line” on the side of a hill for audience members to walk through and contemplate their own faults, which was (aggressively) explained by the artist. Overall, there just wasn’t enough for people to actually do, other than observe the 10 or so installations and to buy food from the food trucks.
I do commend the team for pursuing this festival, particularly after so many years of attempting to create this event, but perhaps the vision for the festival needs to be made clearer before Illumination can actually light up the night.
— Edward Mylechreest, New York City Correspondent
Lady Killers: Masquerade of Murder — Audacious Theatre
$35 — $75; Denver, CO; Through Oct 31
For their annual Halloween show, Audacious Theater has returned with another deliciously dark horror comedy. Last year it was Murder at The Drive-In; this year it’s Lady Killers: Masquerade of Murder, a costume party in Hell with the opportunity to interrogate history’s craziest women murderers.
The evening begins with the party’s host, Elizabeth Báthory — the Hungarian serial killer known as The Blood Countess. She brags about her work on Earth (including the number of victims she claimed) before announcing that she’s been promoted and will soon reign over all of Hell. This has created an opening for ruling over this particular territory of Hell, which we (the party guests) will soon decide who is worthy of filling.
One by one, The Countess brings out six notorious women murderers, each recounting the stories of their past and giving us a peek into their distinct personalities. The women are then released to subtly partitioned spaces furnished with macabre decor relating to their evil deeds, and we’re tasked with interviewing them to determine who is best fit for the job. Although we’re encouraged to ask whatever we want to make that decision, there are prepared questions to pull from a bowl if a nudge is needed.
Every 10–15 minutes the interviewing is interrupted as The Countess calls one of the women to the center of the room to perform for us. Some sing, some dance, some fight and beat each other up. Then we rotate, and the questioning continues. The format is simple, yet original, and effectively lets us roam and play within the world, but provides enough structure to keep the story moving forward.
Lady Killers: Masquerade of Murder presents a winning combination of morbid subject matter juxtaposed against the witty and whimsical setting of a costume ball in Hell — a delectable smorgasboard of fun for fans of true crime and fictional horror alike!
— Danielle Look, Denver Correspondent
Wayfinding — Chloë Bass
Free; St. Louis, MO; Through Nov 14
Currently presented at the Pulitzer Arts Foundation, Wayfinding is an art installation consisting of two parts: a collection of more than 30 signs and a site-specific audio work narrated by artist Chloë Bass and local St. Louis collaborators. Crafted from multiple sources, the audio’s text includes quotes from a city government program, internet reviews of the Pulitzer, landscape architecture teaching guides, reports by the National Institutes of Health, and Bass’ personal account.
Wayfinding signage is vital — and often forgettable. For many, it’s a tool offering little beyond the utilitarian. Bass, however, transforms such signage into a resonant, poetic experience. Signs are divided up into four sections on the Pulitzer’s grounds. Mirrored billboards reflect their environment and, at times, letters vanish into the clouds: HOW MUCH OF LOVE IS ATTENTION becomes HOW MUCH OF LOVE IS ATTRACTION.
The audio piece expands on the physical installation by interweaving seemingly unrelated entities. In it, Bass links health disorders, legalese, and public opinion with tenets of architectural wayfinding. Her format raises questions around patterns, individual intuition, and democratic processes. As a result, Bass inverts wayfinding from a routine, external search of the tangible world into a probing, internal dialogue: How do we each find our own way, through painful situations or complex relationships, against the current of available resources and (possibly perceived) limitations?
Bass explores what is said and what is unsaid, using language’s negative space to mold psychological environments. She also questions our adaptations: how we create immaterial landmarks to navigate situations, people, or moments in our lives and what we no longer see over time. In practice, wayfinding is orienting oneself within physical space and developing a plan to reach the desired destination; Bass’ Wayfinding signposts the emotional spaces we inhabit and challenges the idea of knowable, reachable destinations within those landscapes.
— Laura Hess, Arts Editor
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