Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Going to extremes: Downtown theater is alive and well with the outrageous, interactive IN HELL WITH JESUS/ TOP 40 and IT’S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH

• By drediman
• November 18, 2023
• No Comments

This past week, I had the opportunity to take in a pair of outrageous and interactive avant-garde productions. Based on what I experienced, I can happily attest that the city’s downtown theater scene is alive and well. As always, here are my thoughts.

IN HELL WITH JESUS/ TOP 40
La MaMa
Through November 26

First up at La MaMa was Ivo Dimchev’s In Hell with Jesus/ Top 40 (HIGHLY RECOMMENDED). Now calling New York his home, the Bulgarian performance artist has been making a name for himself in the city’s downtown experimental theater scene with his anything goes performances. Dimchev’s latest show currently at La MaMa’s downstairs performance venue showcases exactly why he’s has been getting all the buzz. Loosely structured as a series of auditions for a show he’s looking to bring to a fictitious arts festival in Copenhagen, Hell with Jesus/ Top 40 ultimately devolves into unbridled interactive merriment. Yes, there’s more than ample shenanigans to engage in — nudity is involved (because why not) and heavy imbibement is highly encouraged. But beneath all the outrageousness, there’s a subtle and sophisticated sense of artful theatricality at play. As our emcee for the smart, silly, and altogether exuberant evening, the uniquely charismatic and oddly childlike Dimchev was nearly always one step ahead of us, keeping things unpredictable while astutely reading the room to shape the evening. To boot, our host was also a stylish vocalist — sprinkled throughout were a set of quirky little ditties that taunted and teased as only Dimchev could.

SNATCH ADAMS & TAINTY MCCRACKEN PRESENT IT’S THAT TIME OF THE MONTH
Soho Rep / Bushwick Starr
Through December 10

Then over at the Walkerspace, you’ll find Soho Rep and Bushwick Starr’s co-production of Snatch Adams & Tainty McCracken Present It’s that Time of the Month (RECOMMENDED). Written and performed by Becca Blackwell and Amanda Duarte, the show is in essence an amiable talk show hosted by a pair of anatomical private parts (!), the aforementioned Snatch and Tainty (I don’t think I need to further elaborate on who’s which). The overarching intent is to freely celebrate — boldly and brashly, without a hint of shame — womanhood and women’s bodies, largely from a queer perspective. Suffice to say, the empowering and highly sexualized show is chock full of graphic content — both visual and textual — and is not for the faint of heart (don’t take the kids!). Like Dimchev’s show, It’s that Time of the Month is fundamentally reliant on audience interaction, doing away with traditional narrative and instead focusing our attention on a participatory parade of caustic interviews and amusing games (and the occasional irreverent commercial break). As such, the work lacks a bit of direction, although you’ll likely be too distracted to notice anyway. Blackwell ends the evening on a defiantly personal and prismatic note that spins convention even farther from its axis.