Review: “Liminal Archive” at The New Ohio Theatre

Featured: AnnTreesa Joy, Shan Y Chuang, Leah Bachar & Sanam Erfani Photo by Erik McGregor

“Liminal Archive” is a theatrical piece devised by Al Límite Collective. It separates the audience into small groups and takes them through six performances, or rather...moments? It’s hard to pin down exactly what they are because each is so unique to that space and that performer. Ranging in topics from immigration, to loss, to simply all of the things we did to feel less lonely over the last year, there really is something for everyone.

Each section was different than the last and yet they all flowed together as one cohesive expression. You would be prompted to experience the work in different ways from sticking your head and arms into an enclosed space to speaking into a microphone to be a part of a radio broadcast days later. “Liminal Archive” was not simply you experiencing the emotions of the creative team on display but you being prompted to put yours on display as well. The whole process felt incredibly intimate from section to section; like two friends exchanging secrets. They give their heart to you and invite you to give it right back. This continues all the way to the end where you are invited to answer written prompts on the walls of the theatre as you leave that will be used in the next iteration of “Liminal Archive”

It seemed though some were more ambiguous than others, that each section was one particular response to the past year. Though, despite this, it didn’t feel like some of the “pandemic plays” that we got early on in the pandemic. These were deeply personal and hit on very specific emotions and moments. The creators said that the scripts were written by artists from around the world and they took them and made them into the performances, which really comes through in the work. Each one is incredibly unique and it’s very clear that this was an amalgamation of multiple artistic voices coming together to make something beautiful. Which, isn’t that just the kind of art we need right now?

The most moving moment of the show came at the end. You’ve spent the last hour or so with each performer individually but at the end, they come together for a beautiful dance that I think was improvised but I couldn’t tell for sure. It appeared though, that the raw movement was coming spontaneously. This final moment was done with the whole audience standing in a circle with them and feeling like we are as much a part of what is happening as they are. This was an excellent choice as it could have just as easily been a dance that takes place in front of us but putting us in the space where it’s happening speaks to the pieces messages of coming together in hardship and loving the people in our lives in whatever way we can for as long as we can.

“Liminal Archive” is a show that is somehow both incredibly personal and incredibly universal. With six separate pieces that stand out in their own right as well as part of a whole, and six performers who put everything they have into every moment, you’ll leave the theatre feeling fuller than you left it.

“Liminal Archive” was devised by Al Límite Collective at the New Ohio Theatre as a part of Ice Factory (154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in NYC)

With producing directors: Leah Bachar, Monica Hunken and Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li

Audio Design by Benny Woodard, Leah Bachar and Jessica Daugherty

Scenic Design by Monica Hunken

Lighting Design by Hao Bai

Projection Design by Dennis Yueh-Yeh Li

Dramaturgy by Tom Walker

Featuring Leah Bachar, Shan Y. Chuang, Sanam Erfani, Monica Hunken, Ann Treesa Joy and Philip Santos Schaffer