Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – POWER STRIP & ZAUBERLAND: Lincoln Center mounts a pair of nightmarish productions documenting the Syrian refugee experience

• By drediman
• November 1, 2019
• No Comments

Perhaps unintentionally, Lincoln Center has mounted a pair of strikingly compatible productions – one a play, the other essentially a “concept opera” – that bleakly convey the Syrian refugee experience, notably from the woman’s perspective.

Darius Homayoun and Dina Shihabi in LCT3’s production of Sylvia Khoury’s “Power Strip” at the Claire Tow Theater. Photo by Jeremy Daniel.

First there’s the world premiere of Sylvia Khoury’s Power Strip (RECOMMENDED), courtesy of Lincoln Center Theater’s LCT3 programming, at Off-Broadway’s Claire Tow Theater. Set on the barren outskirts of a Greek refugee camp, Ms. Khoury’s new play tells the story of Yasmin, a scrappy, young Syrian migrant who has sacrificed everything in her life to survive. When she befriends a fellow refugee from Damascus – who over a few encounters becomes a potential love interest – her bid for survival is put in jeopardy, or is it? Sprinkled throughout are flashbacks that gradually uncover the tragic events that have led Yasmin to her current difficult predicament. Although much of Ms. Khoury’s writing is compelling and incisive, some of the play’s latter scenes have a tendency to too aggressively and transparently pursue the playwright’s specific agendas. This results in a few awkward moments during which the characters and their words and actions become basically voice pieces for Ms. Khoury rather than being allowed to develop organically under their circumstances. Director Tyne Rafaeli’s gritty staging, which is half shrouded in darkness, does a superb job of maintaining the tension for the duration of the play. The smallish cast is very good, particularly Dina Shihabi’s Yasmin, who gives a performance of conviction and raw power.

Julia Bullock in “Zauberland”, an offering at Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival, at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater. Photo by Stephanie Berger.

Then at the Gerald W. Lynch Theater for two performances only this week, there was the New York premiere of Zauberland (RECOMMENDED) (“Magic Land”), a piece of music theater which uses Schumann’s song cycle Dichterliebe as a springboard. Notable British director Katie Mitchell’s grim production, one of the offerings of Lincoln Center’s ongoing White Light Festival this fall, revises Schumann’s original premise and replaces it with the story (courtesy of playwright Martin Crimp) of a pregnant Syrian refugee who dreams of a better life in Germany, her final destination. Dispersed throughout her (fever) dream, however, are nightmarish snapshots of her horrific journey so far, which include her husband’s death, as well as various suggestions of rape and violence. The staging by Ms. Mitchell (who was recently represented in New York with another experimental opera, Norma Jeane Baker of Troy, starring none other than Renee Fleming and Ben Wishaw) is relentless, fractured, and dizzyingly episodic. Indeed, the production more than occasionally overwhelms and seems at odds with Schumann’s romantic score. Our tragic heroine is gamely played by soprano Julia Bullock, who is incessantly manipulated and objectified; she’s dressed and undressed (at one point she’s even blindfolded) and practically thrown around the bare stage like a rag doll by a small ensemble of menacing men over the course of the show’s 80 minutes. In terms of music-making, Ms. Bullock’s soprano sustained its lush, even quality, which is astonishing given the amount of physical activity she’s subjected to. Accompanying her is pianist Cédric Tiberghien, who played with feeling and vigor.

POWER STRIP
Off-Broadway, Play
Lincoln Center Theater via LCT3 / Claire Tow Theater
1 hour, 30 minutes (without an intermission)
Through November 17

ZAUBERLAND
Music/Theater
Lincoln Center’s White Light Festival / Gerald W. Lynch Theater
1 hour, 20 minutes (without an intermission)
Closed