Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Hallucinatory visions of the end of the world: Ars Nova’s THE BEASTIARY and Malaprop’s HOTHOUSE

• By drediman
• October 30, 2024
• No Comments

Over the past few days, I came across a pair of shows with grim matters on their minds — namely, the end of the world as we know it, and what lies after. As always, read on for my thoughts.

THE BEASTIARY
Ars Nova at Greenwich House Theatre
Through November 9

First up at Greenwich House Theatre is Ars Nova’s wildly imaginative production of The Beastiary (RECOMMENDED), a medieval pageant from the folks over at On the Rocks Theatre Co., namely the team of Christopher Ford and Dakota Rose. In essence, the show is a parlor of phantasmagorical visions — narrated by a disembodied Vincent Price-esque voice — depicting the end of times, during which women can no longer carry babies to term, the land is no longer fit for tilling, and demons roam about freely. In a progression of loosely interconnected vignettes, the work more specifically follows the gruesome fates of the last handful of humans on earth. Prominently featured in the production are Ford’s array of gleefully handcrafted puppets (including extravagant layers of kinetic backdrops that artfully delineate time and place), which mischievously mesh with the show’s apocalyptic subject matter. Throughout, Rose’s fun house direction evokes a naughty sense schadenfreude, which is largely made possible through the efforts of the production’s hardworking, wickedly funny ensemble of actors, each of whom fully bask in the work’s escalating terror and absurdity. Also marvelous is the live musical accompaniment provided by Cornelius Loy (theremin) and music supervisor Ellen Winter (voice and other musical contributions). Despite all the sound and the fury that that transpires over the course of the show, The Beastiary concludes on a hopeful, strangely serene note.

HOTHOUSE
Malaprop at Irish Arts Center
Through November 17

Then up at Irish Arts Center in Hell’s Kitchen, you’ll find Dublin-based theater company Malaprop making its U.S. debut with Hothouse (RECOMMENDED). In short, the piece is set on a ship called the Crystal Prophesy, which embarks on an Arctic cruise to take its passengers to gaze upon the expanse of ocean where the polar ice cap used to be (!). Within the ship’s performance venue, we are witnesses to a hallucinatory cabaret in which cycles of human abuse are juxtaposed with the slow but inevitable demise of the planet as a result of climate change (in particular, the gradual extinction of birds is ridiculously wrought). Throughout Claire O’Reilly’s freewheeling romp of a production — which is fancifully emceed by the ship’s captain — there are strong nods to vaudeville and music hall type entertainment, particularly emphasized by the cheeky musical ditties by Anna Clock, the period choreography by Deirdre Griffin, and the feather-and-sequin-heavy costumes designed by Molly O’Cathain. As the ship approaches its destination, the show’s antics spin increasingly out of control — suggesting a world which has lost all semblance of meaning — culminating in a chaotic madcap sequence depicting the cruise liner’s Titanic-like demise. What follows is a somber epilogue, which (similar to Ars Nova’s production of The Beastiary) concludes the work with a glimmer of hope. Thanks to some bold, incisive acting by the ensemble cast, the show successfully walks the fine line between garish farce and the bruised humanity that lies beneath.