Off-B'way Review: An Ark

An Ark.
Credit: Marc J. Franklin

Billed as a “new play with mixed reality,” Simon Stephens’ An Ark begs the questions “Is it theater?” and “Does the technology make up for a lack of conflict, character or clear purpose?” Audience members remove their shoes (although the reason for this is never explained) and enter an open space at The Shed. Folding chairs surround a large, illuminated globe suspended above the center of the room. You are shown to a seat and instructed by the friendly staff to put on a headset with goggles. The headset allows you to see virtual versions of four empty chairs. When the “play” begins, four actors or rather their video images, enter, sit down and advise you not to panic. They then deliver a series of verbal sensory images and fragments of memories in the second person, repeatedly asking us to savor what it’s like to be alive. At one point, we can hear raindrops. Perhaps that’s why it's called An Ark? After about three-quarters of an hour, we have been taken through a lifetime’s worth of touching and sensing. The headsets come off, we reclaim our shoes and return home. 

The quartet of virtual performers have soothing voices and speak their lines like tender lullabies. Ian McKellen, Golda Rosheuvel (Queen Charlotte from Bridgerton), Arinzé Kene, and Rosie Sheehy are all expert at keeping us calm and relaxed. It’s a thrill to see Sir Ian (or his avatar) who could make reciting the telephone book compelling and the other actors are proficient at conveying snippets of experience and feelings.

But what’s the point here? There is very little drama or conflict. The one moment of potential confrontation arrives when one of the characters (Kene) confesses he was at the wheel during an automobile accident resulting in the death of his passenger. Sheehy objects to his being present and he walks out of the frame in shame. He returns a few minutes later but with no change to his demeanor or evidence that the confession has changed him. This is the only hint at character development. Sarah Frankcom is listed as director, but her contribution is difficult to judge with so little action.

Audience members at An Ark.
Credit: Marc J. Franklin

The piece’s raison d’être seems to be that with the goggles, the characters appear to be talking directly and intimately to each individual audience member. The same experience could have been achieved in a movie theater or in one’s own home through streaming on your TV. So what makes this strange event theater with no live actors? Viola’s Room, a similar experiment with no people in the cast told its tale through sets, lighting and sound at The Shed a few months ago, and was more engrossing. Unlike An Ark, it had a story to tell.

Technology in service of riveting material can enhance the theatrical experience. But An Ark feels like an example of tech for its own sake.

The cast of An Ark:
Golda Rosheuvel, Ian McKellen, Rosie Sheehy,
Arinzé Kene.
Credit: Rachel-Louise Brown

Jan. 21—March 1. The Shed and Tin Drum at The Shed, 545 W. 30th St., NYC. Running time: 47 mins. with no intermission. theshed.org.