‘The Unknown’ is a Thoughtful Twist on a Halloween Classic (Review)
‘A(partment 8)’ auteur Annie Lesser teams up with friends for a new spooky happening
Since bursting onto the LA scene with A(partment 8), an intense, sometimes frightening experience, Annie Lesser has played with a wide range of concepts including but not limited to death (a frequently recurring concept), mathematics, and a life distilled across a number of shows. With The Unknown, she’s circled back towards the realm of horror, though neither A(partment 8) or this show are really quite that. Indeed, The Unknown owes more to home haunts than out and out frights.
The show itself is split in two pieces, an outdoor lounge and the haunt itself, (well, two and a half parts, if you count the guided meditation you receive prior to your show time). The haunt, the lounge, and the meditation compliment each other and work together to dig into what the “unknown” means. They don’t rely on each other so much that they can’t be taken in on their own though.
The Unknown was sold as a DIY event, and that’s evident in the haunt and the lounge. That aesthetic actually serves the show well as it captures the charm of a home haunt and a backyard Halloween party at the same time. The show isn’t just that though.
The lounge area features a number of homemade items from a giant Ouija board/bar to tribal masks along with some interactive features. The heart of the lounge is the stories you can hear there though. A trio (normally a foursome, but one was out the first night) of actors — Kate Morgan, Robert Rancano, and Claire Stephens — each have a spooky story or three to tell you that tie into what they’re doing in the space. Those stories center around dreams, the afterlife, and all things unknowable.
Drawing from a multicultural well, you’ll hear about Sara and Sarita and wendigos alongside classics like Bloody Mary and ding dong ditch. Moving away from the standards or plain old ghost stories and out into the world gives the storytelling a welcome texture, and hey, you might hear one you hadn’t before. It’s also a good reminder that everyone has the same anxieties and fears, the trappings might just be a little bit different.
Once you’ve heard all of their stories, the lounge folks will just chat with you about the same topics. You don’t have to engage so deeply, but the actors are game and you can get into some fun conversations if you want to. They’ll also take the chance to take that Ouija board out for a spin (will the spirits speak to you?), try out a game of Sara Sarita (make sure you end it properly), or play Jenga (nothing scary there except for trying to rebuild the tower) with you.
The haunt portion of the evening (staffed by Keight Leighn and Sélynne Silver) also has a heavy DIY feel, while drawing inspiration from the stories in the lounge. The order doesn’t particularly matter though; I went through about half the lounge, then the haunt, and then the second half of the lounge and found that worked quite well, for what it’s worth. You may recognize elements of the stories during your haunting, but you can also find parts of your haunt in the tales you’ll be told.
Once you’ve had a chance to take in both is when The Unknown starts to click. It reveals itself as something that’s less about scaring you and more as a meditation on what’s behind those fears. As in the lounge area, there’s a lovely little moment that points towards the similar fears that everyone experiences. That thoughtful approach is what gives The Unknown a little heft and makes it an interesting spin on a Halloween haunt. But hey, it’s a fun one of those too.
The Unknown plays through November 4th at an undisclosed location in Silverlake. Lounge-only tickets are $15. Haunt tickets are $45.
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