The play “Blind Runner,” currently showing at St. Ann’s Warehouse through January 24 as part of the Under the Radar festival, explores the distance and detachment between a husband and wife using live video elements. The intense close-ups of the actors’ faces projected onto the back wall highlight their pain and longing. The play, performed in Farsi by the Mehr Theatre Group, depicts the couple’s struggle in a surveillance state, with the use of video enhancing the narrative. While the piece delves into melodrama, the restrained performances of the actors keep it grounded.
In contrast, “The 7th Voyage of Egon Tichy [Redux]” at New York Theatre Workshop’s Fourth Street Theatre presents a live adaptation of the original online work, showcasing Joshua William Gelb’s performance as multiple versions of the space traveler Egon Tichy. Despite some sagging in the script, Gelb’s seamless scene changes make the show a fun and entertaining experience. On the other hand, “PRISONCORE!” part of The Exponential Festival, uses multimedia elements to explore the challenges of living a life entirely online, but falls short in fully developing its central concept.
Lastly, the digital project “TECHNE” at BAM Fisher incorporates generative AI in its presentations, with mixed results. While recreating films through AI like in “The Vivid Unknown” may not add value, the video essay “Voices” by Margarita Athanasiou successfully weaves together technology and storytelling. Overall, these works in the January festival season in New York demonstrate the different ways live video elements and new technologies can be integrated into theater productions, with some successes and some setbacks.
Source
Photo credit www.theatrely.com