Since I Suppose
Created by one step at a time like this
Based on a play by William Shakespeare
starting at Chicago Shakespeare, Navy Pier (map)
thru Sept 21 | tickets: $45-$75 | more info
Check for half-price tickets
Read review
A true Chicago theater marvel
one step at a time like this i/a/w Chicago Shakespeare Theater presents
Since I Suppose
Review by Oliver Sava
Since I Suppose ends with a request that the participant keep the show’s developments a secret, so this review is going to be vague on details, but it’s safe to say that this is a true Chicago theater marvel. Developed by Chicago Shakespeare Theater and Australian theater company one step at a time like this—creators of 2011’s magnificent en route—Since I Suppose is a masterpiece in experiential story telling, taking individuals on the multimedia journey through downtown Chicago that brilliantly uses technology to mine the huge potential of theater in the digital age.
Since I Suppose is all about putting Shakespeare’s plot, characters, and words in a context that makes them especially relevant in contemporary times, beginning with a series of personal questions that force you to make snap decisions regarding some of the conflicts that will be further explored during the production’s two hours and 15 minutes. As you make your way through major legal, spiritual, and erotic landmarks of downtown, you listen to audio tracks that uses Shakespeare’s script as a springboard for a variety of different discussions, merging the fictional with the real in a way that shows why these stories still matter.
Goodman’s visually stunning production of Measure For Measure last year showed the play’s modern merits by setting it in 1970s New York City, but the added technological element of Since I Suppose adds new layers to the story that make it specifically important in the 21st-century. With the rise of social media, people are becoming more physically isolated as they connect via digital avatars. Theater is one of the ways to escape that solitude and experience art created by a living thing sharing a space with a living audience, but Since I Suppose takes that idea and twists it in fascinating ways.
This is a theater production with an audience of one person that spends considerable time looking at a mobile device, but it uses that isolation to make the entire experience feel like a secret adventure in a world that is full of wonder. The community of other theatergoers is replaced with the community of people walking the city streets alongside you, but there’s no interaction with those passersby.
That interaction is primarily between you and the city: “the city is a character” has become shorthand for saying a production has a heavy emphasis on an urban setting, but in the case of Since I Suppose, the city is the character. Locations come to represent the players in Shakespeare’s story, and the different cosmetic qualities of each site do remarkable work reflecting the emotional undercurrents of the script.
I wish I could delve deeper into specific events of Since I Suppose—some of which rank at the top of my list of incredible theater moments—but the less you know about the experience, the more magical it becomes. There’s a genuine thrill to this production, not unlike the feeling of exploring the city for the first time without parental supervision. The two companies are trusting their audience to navigate the city and engage with the story in a way that other productions don’t, and in the process they create an experience unlike any other in Chicago theater. It’s a shame that Since I Suppose is only in town for a few weeks, because it’s s the kind of milestone every theater lover should get the chance to witness at least once.
Rating: ★★★★
Since I Suppose continues through September 21st, starting out at Chicago Shakespeare at Navy Pier, 800 E. Grand (map).. Tickets are $45-$75, and are available by phone (312-595-5600) or online through their website. More information at ChicagoShakes.com. (Running time: approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes)
Photos by Michael Litchfield
artists
cast
City of Chicago, you
behind the scenes
Chicago Shakespeare, Richard Jordan Productions (producers), Motorola Mobility Foundation, Julius Frankel Foundation, Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Melbourne Festival and Arts House (sponsors), Michael Litchfield (photos)
18-0847
