Review: 'A Grave is Given Supper' at the New Ohio Theatre

“A Grave Is Given Supper” was written by Mike Soto and directed by Claudia Acosta It told the story of two lovers at the U.S/Mexico border through a series of interconnected poems. Their struggle being portrayed solely by Elena Hurst. It’s a story of love and loss told through poetry, projections, and dance. All pieces that worked well on their own, though, I struggled to make sense of the greater picture when they were put together.

While all of the pieces seemed like they should fit; beautiful language, great acting, and striking visuals, I found myself still struggling to follow the story. Hurst from character to character and moment to moment in a way that made clear things were different but not clear what was different. We were given several moments, one after the other, and I didn’t have time to register where we were and what was happening before we had moved on to the next one. Hurst kept moving through the world, with very little regard to if we were brought into it or not.

As I said already, despite the confusing aspects to the play, the language itself was very beautiful. Soto conjured up images and sensations that were incredibly vivid. Their talent in poetic writing was made clear. And when I started to take in the performance like a spoken word poem, enjoying the sounds and images of the language without needing to know where it all was heading, I could be whisked away to a place of calm and surrealness. Though, moments later I would try to tune back into the story and not be sure where we were or where we were heading.

The projections and design of this show were quite striking. The use of the double backdrop to create a duel image effect made the dream-like space we were existing in feel all the more abstract. It fit with the language and overall tone of the piece very well. It was also clear that Hurst understood how to use the language of the poems and create a world where we didn’t doubt for a second that they spoke in this magical way. Again, the biggest problem of the piece, for me, was not knowing how to use these elements in a way that made the journey clear. I even find it difficult to discuss the ideas the piece was trying to present because the way they were put together made it difficult to find any connection or stance.

“A Grave Is Given Supper” clearly has a lot of talent behind it. Beautiful poetic language, creative design, and a great performance by Elena Hurst. But it doesn’t utilize those things in a way that forms a clear connecting story or series of ideas. I spent more time trying to figure out who I was watching at any particular moment or where we were than enjoying the story being told. My hope for future iterations is that they either lean further into the poetic aspects of the piece or lean more into using the poetry as a guide for a theatrical story.

“A Grave is Given Supper” was presented at the New Ohio Theatre as a part of Ice Factory (154 Christopher Street between Greenwich and Washington Streets in NYC)

It was written by Mike Soto and directed by Claudia Acosta

Featuring: Elena Hurst

Choreography Beverly Lopez

Sound Design Luke Santy

Lighting Design Asa Lipton

Scenic Design Johnny Moreno

Cinematography and Editing Ken Lin