Photo courtesy of Catharsis Theatre Collective
Reviewed by Katy Kragel
Catharsis Theatre Collective at Broadwater Black Box
Through March 15
“See you in Hell.”
“It’s nice to be desired.”
“You silence people because the truth terrifies you.”
“And what of the children?”
In writer-director Ryan Lisman’s play, these lines ring through the Broadwater Black Box stage as audience members file their way into the theater. With dim blue lighting, eerie music, and the ensemble of actors costumed in classic theater blacks repeating these statements, an uneasy tone is immediately apparent. Once this pre-show ended, five of the main actors took the stage, dressed in everyday, 2026 outfits sitting at a desk, interview-style. Come to find out, the three characters being interviewed are siblings. This check-in is with two U.S. Marshalls – played by Alisha Seaton and Sonja Inge. The three siblings: Scott (Thomas McNamara,) Hannah (Casey Buxton-Dean,) and Bobby (Connor Keithley) have been placed in witness protection after escaping a traumatic childhood in Alaska. They’ve been out for a decade, but they must face their past, trauma, and new challenges when Scott’s fiance (Keaton McLachlan) enters the picture. Director Lisman’s most interesting artistic choice occurs with every scene transition when the ensemble from the pre-show comes back to ominously change the set and move us into the next scene.
Unfortunately, these unique scene transitions break up the flow of the show quite frequently, bouncing across settings from the interview space to a park to three different living room spaces to a classroom, just to name a few. These frequent location shifts leave the already complex narrative feeling slightly ungrounded. Not to mention, some of the “villain” characters seem more like caricatures than actual, nuanced people. In a narrative that tackles some of the biggest headline issues of today – violent power dynamics, personal and familial trauma – seeing overly simple villain tropes and portrayals doesn’t serve the heavy topics.
With glimpses of nuanced conversations that leave the audience with much to ponder as they exit the theater, ultimately, there are almost too many big-issue dark themes to really have time to flesh out all the important angles and details of them. The audience faces the harsh reality of modern evils right before our eyes which is powerful, but with just the slight glimpses of nuance, at times, the play might’ve been tackling too much.This play certainly brings undeniably important and relevant topics to the stage, and to Lisman’s credit, I certainly left the theater thinking about the role of the arts in grappling so unapologetically with the darkness of our current society. We’re one click away from details and photos from the Epstein files and more, so heavy and complicated stories certainly have their place on the stage. But, without proper attention to detail and nuance, the theater lights don’t illuminate these traumas as they otherwise might.
The Broadwater Black Box, 6322 Santa Monica Blvd., Hlwyd; Fri., 7:30 pm, Sat.-Sun., 3 pm; thru March 15. https://events.humanitix.com/andwhatofthechildren Running time: Two hours and 35 minutes with one 10-minute intermission.
