ABYSS written by Maria Milisavljevic, directed by Richard Rose (Tarragon, 30 Bridgman). Runs to March 15. $42-$55. See Continuing. Rating: NNN
After translating Schaubuhne Berlin’s acclaimed production of Ibsen’s An Enemy of the People for Tarragon back in the fall, up-and-coming German playwright Maria Milisavljevic gets a chance to showcase her own work with this dark and cryptic missing person mystery.
Set in a German city, the plot is mostly narrated in stream-of-consciousness present tense by a young woman (Cara Pifko) whose close friend Karla suddenly and inexplicably disappears. Filling in bits of her narrative, and helping in the search are Karla’s boyfriend (and roommate of the narrator) Vlado (Gord Rand), an angry introvert who is haunted by childhood experiences in the Yugoslav Wars, and Sofia (Sarah Sherman), Karla’s roommate and sister of the narrator.
Eschewing set and props, director Richard Rose keeps the trio in close proximity, boxed into a tight diamond-shaped riser in the middle of the stage. The actors hold hands for nearly the entire show, which leads to some inventive staging, especially in fast-paced action scenes and when Rand and Sherman need to quickly switch between supporting characters. The emphasis here is clearly on character work.
Despite the classic mystery set-up, the plot resists the typical trope where the protagonists follow a series of clues, incrementally uncovering the truth, for a satisfying final “a-ha” revelation. Unlike a by-the-numbers thriller, the progression is slow and at times frustrating.
Milisavljevic’s detailed script conjures places like the narrator’s apartment, Vlado’s grandfather’s Croatian home and a German police station. The narrator routinely jumps from the main story to memories of her long history and special connection with Vlado, which contain symbols and metaphors that are obsessively repeated throughout. The essence of the show turns out to be the exploration of the unconventional relationship between the narrator and Vlado, which only slowly comes into view.
Despite impressive acting and compelling sequences, the disparate elements – the search for Karla, the recursive memories and symbols, Sofia’s numerous perplexing asides – fail to coalesce into a clear whole by the end.
