Posted: 1/26/22 at 10:19am
From the writer of 2018’s DANCE NATION at Playwrights Horizons.
I saw this last night, and I’m slightly at a loss for how to describe it. Last night my partner asked me “what was the show like?” and I sat there basically stumbled over my words for a full minute, trying to know where to begin.
Firstly: it’s very strange - often funny, often upsetting. Clare Barron writes, directs, and stars in it – and there’s a clarity to her vision that keeps the show afloat, even when it’s pretty perplexing. This show’s style and concept could have easily crumbled in on itself, but under her keen direction, her writing really soars. The acting is also really strong all around. There are 2 actors who are only in 1 scene, and yet it’s one of the best scenes in the show.
To drastically oversimplify the “plot,” it’s basically about 2 sisters living in New York, and their sexual + romantic experiences helping them to get in touch with themselves, and with their own bodies. Again, that description does NOT do justice to what the show is actually like.
The dramatic structure is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s sort of vignettes, sort of a plot. Sort of abstract, sort of literal. Sort of absurd, sort of realistic. It’s not particularly satisfying, but it’s not trying to be. The story doesn’t “go anywhere” in the traditional sense. But there are thematic threads that come together, and reach a kind of loose cohesion by the end – but it’s also partly up to interpretation. And it’s very absorbing a bizarre sort of way. It also includes scenes of ASMR.
There’s a LOT of content that some might want to be aware of. I’ll put it in a spoiler box just in case, but consider reading it anyway. It could help you decide whether or not the show is for you:
The show has graphic descriptions of sexual activities, gory injuries, scatological health issues, and descriptions of sexual assault / rape culture (such as guys pressuring women to have sex without condoms – things like that). There’s also a scene depicting some sexual sadism (which is mostly consensual, but it’s suggested that the person on the receiving end isn’t totally into it). Also, there’s onstage flames, cigarettes, and incense.
Also note that some of the audience is sitting on cushions or an onstage mattress. These are assigned seats though, so if it doesn’t sound comfortable to you (it didn’t look comfortable), just don’t buy the first 2 rows, or rows M or N.
This will certainly be very divisive. Many people will hate it, and I totally understand why. And many people probably just shouldn’t see it. Overall, I found it very compelling, but parts of it were pretty intense for me as a squeamish person. At times it felt gratuitous, but I think in the end I got a good sense of what she was going for.
I’d also note that this is somewhat MORE intense, and LESS accessible than Dance Nation, which was already a pretty weird show.
Updated On: 1/26/22 at 10:19 AM
