Review: “Who’s There?” at the New Ohio Theatre’s Ice Factory Festival 2020
Performers (top row, left to right): Ghafir Akbar, Sim Yan Ying “YY”, Sean Devare (bottom row, left to right): Neil Redfield, Camille Thomas, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai (Photo: The Transit Ensemble)
Max Berry, Contributing Critic
Completely devised by the Transit Ensemble in response to the need to connect across communities in a time of local and global unrest, “Who’s There?” explores what can happen when in one location one is the oppressor and in another the oppressed. Directed by Sim YanYing “YY” and Alvin Tan, it tells multiple stories of racism and prejudice set both in the United States and in Malaysia. Truly utilizing the virtual medium, the show features cast members from the U.S, Singapore, and Malaysia. Uniting all of these people from all across the globe makes the piece feel large in scale and yet the piece itself is beautifully simple. We see vignettes of people from these three countries discussing politics, racism, and social issues as well as their place in them. Using things like an Instagram live stream and response videos to really bring the conversations into the modern world and how we have them today.
The piece was made up of several stories that intersected with each other. From an African-American woman having a discussion with a Malaysian school teacher about the use of blackface in their school musical to an American man meeting his Malaysian cousin for the first time and challenging his beliefs on his radio show, to a racial debate that spans across continents over the internet, all of these characters are woven into each other in really unique and powerful ways that put them in different positions that we get to watch them navigate. No character is on one side for the entire play.
The Transit Ensemble really embraced the virtual nature of the show with things like the previously mentioned Instagram live streams and reaction videos but also with their very well constructed “crash course” information interludes that quickly give you all the historical and political information you need in order to proceed to the next scene. These are done very efficiently and set up the next scene perfectly. It is not unlike those crash course videos many of us watched back in school and just another example of how the Transit Ensemble really worked the digital space into the piece. The actors will also sometimes use the chat to communicate with each other which provided a very unique layer to the already distanced communication.
Another very unique aspect of the show was their use of live polls centered around topics of racism and directly related to what was going on in the show. They would provide a prompt such as “Everyone is racist” and give you the option to anonymously vote for either “fact” or opinion”. Then the results would be shown immediately after. This was used very effectively to gauge the thoughts of the audience in real-time. It set the tone for the following scene in a way that I can only imagine was different each night.
Though, one of the most striking moments in the show is when the entire cast views a video of a “Karen” being racist towards a black man and they discuss the situation and all of its avenues. The conversation gets very heated, with many characters walking away or opting to talk in the chat rather than in person. Some characters dominate the conversation while others are not given hardly any time to speak. Many perspectives are explored and very important and thought-provoking questions are asked. This scene is made all the more impressive when you find out that it is a fictionalized version of a real conversation had in rehearsal. It adds context and weight to it. If you weren’t paying attention before because maybe you thought that it was just a part of the script, you are forced to think of it in its real-world sense. Also, all of the “characters” that the actors have been playing up to this point have been shed and we really see each individual as they are, having an honest conversation.
Combining realistic scenes with beautiful abstract devised work, “Who’s There?” captures something truly remarkable. Using all that the virtual medium will offer, they tell a story that spans continents, seeks to unite, and leaves you asking some very important questions.
“Who’s There?” was created by the Transit Ensemble and presented as a part of the New Ohio Theatre’s Ice Factory Festival 2020. It ran August 4th-8th on Zoom.
It was co-directed by Sim Yan Ying "YY" and Alvin Tan
Featuring: Camille Thomas, Ghafir Akbar, Neil Redfield, Rebekah Sangeetha Dorai ரெபெகா சங்கீதா டொரை, Sean Devare, and Sim Yan Ying “YY”
Dramaturgy by Cheng Nien Yuan & J.Ed Araiza
Multimedia Design by Jevon Chandra
Sound Design by Jay Ong
Publicity Design by Sean Devare
Stage Manager: Manuela Romero
Stage Management Intern: Priyanka Kedia
Marketing & Multimedia Intern: Ryan Henry