Ambitious work keeps audience members on their toes
There's a distinct strain of Philip K. Dick running through the Chicago premiere of Ken Urban's The Awake . Hallucinogenic, paranoid and borderline schizoid, it throws audiences into the deep end and doesn't offer a hand to help you navigate its deeply troubling waters.
Protean, elemental themes pervade the story of Daniel Desmarais' mama's-boy Malcolm. As his mother (Barbara Figgins) lays in a vegetative state, he recounts a dream in which he and she are marooned on a floating bed in a flooded world. "Silence," she once told him, "is healing." She was a functionary at a corporation known as Aegisil, which is probably a reference to the Greek concept of a powerful, benevolent force of protection known as 'aegis.'
For the actress (housewife?) Gabrielle (Scottie Caldwell), her husband Robert (Matt Thinnes) has a mysterious job he describes cryptically with a brusque "I make us safe." But is Gabrielle really herself-a woman with a muddled East European accent from a country that no longer exists-or is she Tonya, an American housewife? Ada Greyplays the indelibly creepy Celeste, Gabby/Tonya's stepdaughter...or actual daughter.
If it all sounds Inception-level difficult to untangle, that's the point. Recurring motifs of engulfment pervade. Beyond Malcolm's biblical symbolism, Gabrielle finds herself recurringly trapped in a burning set, and several references are made to things being buried inexorably by snow. What is real and what is not is not as important as the pervasive sense of dread and confusion that flows right out of nightmare logic. Each of these characters find a connection to each other as they flit through Lauren Nigri's dreamscape of piled chairs. The minimalist staging means the trio must do double time to poetically describe what they are doing and seeing. Each of the core triptych of performers are well-versed in the physical miming and vocal intonation necessary to pull this off and keep the audience engaged.
Are their personality fractures-if indeed that is what is happening-caused by some new form of internalized torture? What is that recurring "boom" that throws everyone off kilter? No matter your level of guilt, we are assured, the Corporation can make you feel as though you've done something wrong. This is one of the more intelligent works dealing with Orwellian themes I've seen at the Flat Iron Arts Building. It only occasionally drifts into heavy handedness. This would actually make a great script for a Michel Gondry music video. As would-be torturer Trump continues to cast a pall over American ethics, the Corporation feels like a boogeyman all to close behind us.
continues through March 12th at Collaboraction, 1579 N. Milwaukee, 3rd Floor (map), with performances Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, Sundays 4pm. Tickets are $20, and are available online through their website (check for half-price tickets at Goldstar.com ). More information at FirstFloorTheater.com. (Running time: 100 minutes, including intermission)
behind the scenes
Josh Altman (director), Lauren Nigri (scenic design, photos), Heather Sparling (lighting design), Kelsey Ettman (costume design), Robert Hornbostel (sound design), Julie Leghorn (stage manager), Will Bishop (production manager), Cole von Glahn (asst. director), LJ Luthringer (asst. sound design), Sarah Collonge (master electrician), Ian Olsen (technical director), (photos)
Tags: 16-0235, Ada Grey, Amanda Fink, Barbara Figgins, Chicago Theater, Cole von Glahn, Collaboraction, Daniel Desmarais, Evan Barr, First Floor Theatre, Flat Iron Arts Building, Heather Sparling, Ian Olsen, Josh Altman, Julie Leghorn, Kaiser Ahmed, Kelsey Ettman, Ken Urban, Lauren Nigri, LJ Luthringer, Matt Thinnes, Michel Gondry, Philip K. Dick, post, Robert Hornbostel, Sarah Collonge, Scottie Caldwell, Will Bishop
Category: 2016 Reviews, Clint May, Collaboraction Studio, First Floor Theater, Flat Iron Arts Building
