An immersive piece combines
dance and spoken word in a Jung-esque meditation on dreams.
A good immersive theatre piece begins long before the audience enters the
space. A day before my visit to Nocturnes in
early April I received an invitation from "The Doctor" via email to
attend a party celebrating the conclusion of his study of dreams. Already
intrigued, audience members arrive to the secret location in Williamsburg and,
along with a couple dozen other guests, are let into the spacious studio,
sunken in haze and purple light. Both clad in whimsical
white dresses, Miss B (Sydney Tucker) and Mister X (Fernando Moya
Delgado), the Doctor’s agitated assistants (or patients?) distribute vials
filled with clear bubbly liquid; however, we must wait for the Doctor to
arrive before toasting and drinking.
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| The cast of Nocturnes. Photo by Arnaldo Vargas |
The Doctor never comes. The
vials are emptied. And although they contain just seltzer, they might as
well contain a dash of LSD because the best word to describe Nocturnes is
“hallucinatory.” Co-creators Lisa Cohen,
Kseniya Ovchinnikova, and Matt Miazgowicz drew their inspiration from mystical
and psychoanalytical approaches to dreams. Poetic monologues by Matt
Miazgowicz combine with site-specific choreography developed in
collaboration with six performers, for an experience stylistically similar to Then She Fell by
Third Rail Projects.
The entire audience
shares an opening dance scene and the finale, but is split into three
parts during the show to witness three simultaneously unfolding scenes in
smaller groups. Before each scene, Miss B and Mister X busy themselves with
labeling audience members with sticker dots in neon orange, pink or green
before sending them off to the next “dream.” Their mood swings from
joyous to morbid as the show progresses. Interacting with them (however
fleetingly) is always enjoyable, but the process of regrouping the
audience each time seems unnecessary and runs the risk of taking you out
of the show.
The three scenes unfolding in the various nooks of
the space are connected by association more than by a story. Kelsey
Rondeau blows bubbles while seated on an inflated swan,
and then dances amongst the audience while delivering an obscure monologue
about dreams. Julia Bengtsson and Zachary Denison dance on every inch of a
claustrophobic loft (including the walls and even the ceiling) with the
audience peering through plexiglass. Tessa Allen tells a tale about a mother
whose beautiful daughter was replaced one night with an evil doppelganger, with
one audience member tucked into a little bed and a huge glowing sphere
ominously hanging above the scene.
The minimalism of the scenery by Kseniya
Ovchinnikova was likely due to the piece's short run
(a single weekend), but worked for the most part, though a single unnecessary
and confusing installation on one of the walls hinted that there might have
been more artifacts planned but not executed. The sound design by Armand
Bernardi was spot on: not too intrusive yet persistently pushing the energy
towards the agonizing resolution.
Nocturnes was full of
interesting ideas and talented performers. The collaborative authorship was
evident, yet the different “handwriting” still came together beautifully. The
blend of dance and monologue was realized successfully. But if it plans to
stand out in the saturated immersive scene, there's room for improvement. The
concept seems somewhat vague, especially in regard to the role of the audience.
Are we all subjects in the study? Are we observers of the subjects? Are we
dreaming or are we watching somebody else’s dream? And what happened to The
Doctor, does he even exist? It’s easy to say that everybody decides for
themselves, but it would be helpful to be given more “tools” with which to toy around
in this intriguing and hazy (both physically and conceptually) production.
__________
Nocturnes played at a secret location in
Williamsburg, Brooklyn, on April 4-7, 2019 . The running time was 90 minutes
with no intermission. Tickets were $100. For more information visit experiencenocturnes.com.
Nocturnes is conceived
and directed by Lisa Cohen, Kseniya Ovchinnikova, and Matt Miazgowicz. Text by
Matt Miazgowicz. Art Direction and Production Design by Kseniya Ovchinnikova.
Costume Design by Kseniya Ovchinnikova and Sarah Esmoingt. Sound Design by
Armand Bernardi. Lighting Design by Jacob Vorperian. Produced by Nuage
Productions, Lisa Cohen, Hanna Zakouri, Jacob Vorperian, and Kimberly Flynn.
The cast is Tessa Allen, Julia Bengtsson, Fernando Moya Delgado, Zachary
Denison, Kelsey Rondeau, and Sydney Tucker.
(This review was published on theasy.com on 4.21.19)
