You are asked to leave your shoes in an anteroom before taking a seat for Passage, which opened on Sunday at Soho Rep.
Well, why not? A theater is a sacred space. Besides, the abstract setting for this production, which also incorporates bench-type seating for 70 spectators who face off on opposite sides of the playing area, is built of a soft blond wood liable to scuffing.
There’s further significance to being shoeless when watching Passage, an intriguing and thoughtful new drama suggested by A Passage to India. It may be helpful for viewers to know E.M. Forster’s novel, but that’s not necessary to appreciate what Christopher Chen hopes to achieve with his play.
Being shoeless literally puts everyone on an equal footing in observing this story regarding xenophobic attitudes and behavior. It dovetails with the minimalist way in which Chen constructs the piece.
Performed by an eight-member company, the play’s dozen or so characters are designated and call each other by letters of the alphabet rather than formal names. The story occurs in a place known here only as Country X, which has been annexed by Country Y. By not naming the locale specifically, Chen hopes that viewers will not bring their preconceptions of a nation (such as India) into this story.
In employing this somewhat awkward methodology of erasing specific identifiers, Chen intends to level the playing field, as it were, in order to explore whether people of different cultures can truly understand each other.
So Linda Powell, portraying a newcomer from Country Y who moves to Country X to take up a teaching job, is known simply as F. Depicting a distinguished doctor who is a native of Country X, the character assumed by K.K. Moggie is called B. These women from different cultures strike up a casual acquaintanceship.
Another stranger hailing from Country Y is Q (Andrea Abello), who has emigrated to join her fiancé R (Yair Ben-Dor) in Country X. Eventually, Q and F, who became chummy on the boat coming over, are escorted by the native Dr. B on a sightseeing excursion to a landmark cavern. Once inside the cavern’s dark, disorienting atmosphere, a violent incident accidentally erupts between Q and Dr. B.
Although Q is the individual at fault, the Country X-influenced local authorities erroneously throw the blameless Dr. B into jail.
The unhappy aftermath sees Dr. B exonerated but her reputation damaged. When a wrongful injury lawsuit arises between Dr. B and Q, character F’s attempts to be an intermediary prove futile.
Passage is an interesting experimental work that maintains one’s attention, but its deliberate intent to make viewers think about the issue rather than feel about the characters makes for a more clinical than dramatic experience. Some rather stiff dialogue and a hasty conclusion also undermine the play’s effectiveness. One thinks about inbred bias —and then probably shrugs.
Some capable performances by a multinational ensemble and a fine production directed by Saheem Ali strengthen the work. The actors personably flesh out the blank spaces within the people they depict, but the personal glow that a sweet-voiced Linda Powell gives the kindly character of F brings especial warmth to these cool proceedings.
The clothes designed by Toni-Leslie James suggest no period but intimate that the locale has a tropical climate. To assist viewer comprehension of the story, she dresses the visitors from Country Y in shades of maroon.
Ali skillfully and fluently stages the 90-minute play’s series of brief scenes. Designer Arnulfo Maldonado’s handsomely abstract setting, which involves a modest hand-turned revolve and half a dozen overhead frames to define the space, melds the audience and the actors into intimate circumstances. Nimble pinpoint lighting designed by Amith Chandrashaker and the subtleties of Mikaal Sulaiman’s sound effects and shimmering heart-of-space original music provide atmosphere.
Such top-notch design, staging, and performance are typical of the wonders that Soho Rep achieves within its storefront premises. The exceptional way that this company supports experimental theater is something remarkable.
Passage opened May 5, 2019, at Soho Rep and runs through May 26. Tickets and information: sohorep.org
