Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Immersive works of theater that uniquely speak to the soul: I COULDN’T TELL YOU WHY & PERSOU

• By drediman
• June 13, 2021
• No Comments

During their brief runs, I had the opportunity to experience a pair of immersive works of theater. With New York’s flagship immersive theater productions currently shuttered (Sleep No More remains in hibernation, and Then She Fell permanently closed up shop during the pandemic), they happily satisfied my appetite for this unique form of theater, while speaking to my soul in unexpected ways.

I COULDN’T TELL YOU WHY
Refracted Theatre Company

Last weekend, I attended the final performance of Refracted Theatre Company’s outdoor promenade production of I Couldn’t Tell You Why (RECOMMENDED) by Harrison David Rivers. The piece uses an interesting hybrid of pre-recorded audio performance (voiced by Jonathan Burke, Daniel K. Isaac, and Ivan Moore) and live physical theater to tell the turbulent coming of age story of a Casey, a Black gay youth with a complicated, toxic relationship with his father. At approximately only half an hour in length, Artistic Director Tova Wolff’s production is a surprisingly rich and layered experience, largely because of the way her staging’s bifurcated multimedia elements intersect. The wordless, highly choreographed live performances (courtesy of the beguiling trio of Kyle Starling, Marcus Zebra Smith, and Azi Coppin) interact with the unsparing spoken text (the use of silent disco headphones heightens the immersion) in poetic ways as they simultaneously depict disparate strands of the protagonist’s life. By using unconventional modes of storytelling and collapsing the temporal aspect of its narratives, this unique character study attains an expansive tragic dimension that caught me off guard. As Pride festivities get underway, I Couldn’t Tell You Why is a potent reminder that there’s still much work left to be done.

PERSOU
the cell

You can always count on the folks at the cell to keep you on your toes. Keeping in that tradition is the chameleonic Chelsea venue’s recent tenant Persou (RECOMMENDED), an immersive theatrical happening by Ellpetha Tsivicos and Camilo Quiroz-Vazquez. All of the senses are seduced here – sight, touch, smell, and sound are engaged to transport audiences to the Temple of Aphrodite in Cyprus. There, you’ll be an active participant in a ritual worshipping the Goddess Persefoni. As the community ushers in Spring, you’ll also be involved in a subplot to permanently do away with Winter (the piece also works as a profound metaphor for the eradication of the pandemic “winter”). Over the course of a tightly-plotted hour, audience members are treated to an extraordinarily diverse experience involving Eastern Mediterranean snacks (including a glass of wine), fragrant smells, exotic live music, and interactive performances from a fierce, all-female cast. Persou ends joyously with a communal dance number which spills out onto the sidewalk, sending you into the night with hope and wonder. As ambitious as the concept is, the production largely pulls it off. Resourcefully and imaginatively designed to fully leverage the cell’s unique dimensions, this post-modern spin insists on the power of the communal imagination to heal and go forth.