Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – If These Walls Could Talk, and They Do

• By drediman
• June 16, 2014
• No Comments

Setting aside Brecht, one of the key tenets of attending theater is the act of suspending disbelief. Indeed, the stereotypical theater is designed to accommodate this surrender to the world evoked by performance: comfortable seats, a dark auditorium, and (hopefully) a respectful and engaged audience. But what if instead of simply accommodating the suspension of disbelief, the performance venue becomes an active participant in telling the story and conveying meaning? Over the years, I’ve attended shows in which the venue itself informs the performance taking place within its confines, whether it be through the venue’s history, function, neighborhood, and/or design. The notion of a space being “activated” by a performance, and vice versa, as opposed to being simply a means to theater-making is an exciting concept for me. The following ten shows are examples of performances that have capitalized on and have taken to heart the popular expression “if these walls could talk”.

1. “Cabaret” at Studio 54

Broadway has rarely seen a more perfect marriage between show and venue than Roundabout’s legendary revival of Kander and Ebb’s “Cabaret” staged at Studio 54. Most of the show takes place in the decadent, seedy Kit Kat Klub, making Studio 54, with its storied history, the perfect space for “Cabaret”.

2. Shakespeare at Shakespeare’s Globe

We have Sam Wanamaker’s vision and drive to thank for Shakespeare’s Globe, a meticulous recreation of Shakespeare’s theatrical home situated near its original Southwark location. To see a play by the Bard in this venue is to connect past and current theatrical traditions, as well as a moving tribute to the world’s greatest playwright. It’s a powerful experience, regardless of what’s on.

3. “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” at the Jane Street Theatre

It’s rare to have a show directly acknowledge and pay homage to the space they’re in, thereby bringing to light an additional character in performance. The original Off-Broadway production of “Hedwig” was one of those shows, leveraging the the Jane Street Theatre’s history and dilapidated glory to tell Hedwig’s tale.

4. “Macbeth” at the Park Avenue Armory

Rob Ashford’s mammoth “Macbeth” starring Kenneth Branagh was inspired by the Park Avenue Armory’s original martial function. Indeed, the audience enters the play’s expansive world roleplaying as one of a number of war-hungry Scottish clans. I’ve never seen a “Macbeth” so focused on the realities and scale of war as this production, making the armory an ideal venue.

5. “Our Town” at Green-Wood Cemetery

Despite the uneven, amateurish quality of this rendition of Thornton Wilder’s ubiquitous classic, the decision to stage “Our Town” in Brooklyn’s Green-Wood Cemetery was a stroke of brilliance (at least on paper). It’s as if the long dead were summoned to re-enact scenes from their small town lives. Potentially chilling, but alas, poorly executed.

6. “Passion Play” at the Irondale Center (i.e., the Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church)

Sarah Ruhl’s early epic play “Passion Play” was staged a few years ago by the Irondale Ensemble Project in a former church. Watching a passion play within a play in a place of worship brought a sense of “full-circle” completion to the experience that would have would have been difficult in a traditional theater venue.

7. “The Strange Undoing of Prudencia Hart” at Bier Baron

Simply put, “Prudencia Hart” is a show largely set in a bar that has been staged in bars all over the world. The connections don’t end with the physical setting. The play is also a moving and at times thrilling ode to the act of storytelling and just plain rowdy behavior, activities which we all associate with being at a pub/bar.

8. “Sharp Metal Objects” at the Grand Foyer of the Kennedy Center

Australia’s Back to Back Theatre was responsible for this fascinating and hugely successful experiment. In the incarnation I saw, the show’s headphoned audience was positioned on risers facing the crowded pre-show Grand Foyer of the Kennedy Center. Within the throngs of people, we followed the actors as they navigated the crowd to enact the play.

9. “Sweeney Todd” at the Bridewell Theatre

There’s something exciting about seeing a show within a stone’s throw from where it actually takes place. Case in point was Bridewell’s wonderfully immersive promenade production of Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd”: the Bridewell is located just off Fleet Street.

10. “Symphony of a Missing Room” at the Royal Academy of Art

“Symphony” was of the entries in this year’s LIFT Festival in London. Like “Sharp Metal Objects” above, this was another intriguing and successful theatrical experiment. But instead of relying your sense of sight to play “Where’s Waldo” amongst the crowds of people, this show completely takes away your sense of vision and asks you to use your imagination to explore secret sections of the RA. Transporting.