By Mike Hoban
‘The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes’ – Director: Bruce Gladwin; Creative Development Artists: Bruce Gladwin, Mark Deans, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Simon Laherty, Sonia Teuben & Victoria Marshall (This show was developed, in part, at the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab at MASS MoCA). Presented by Back to Back Theatre in conjunction with ArtsEmerson at the Emerson Paramount Center, Jackie Liebergott Black Box, 559 Washington St. Boston through January 26.
It wasn’t until the final moments of The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes, the import to the ArtsEmerson stages from Australia’s Back to Back Theatre, that the meaning of the title of the production dawned on me – and then it was as startling clear as a slap to the face. To explain why would be to give away too much about this deceptively profound theater experience, but it’s in the telling of the story by performers that you don’t usually see on stage that makes Shadow such an unpredictable gem of a piece. Written and performed by a cast of “neuro-diverse” actors with intellectual disabilities, it is at various times educational, jolting, hilarious and thought-provoking – while never taking itself too serious, despite some tough subject matter.
Staged on a spacious expanse of the black box theater, with little in the way of props save for a few chairs, a giant white box and a surtitle theater screen (often used in theaters for the hearing impaired) high above the stage, the play is actually a town meeting of sorts, put on by four disabled activists. Their aim, in theory, is to educate the public about the challenges that people with intellectual disabilities face every day, particularly with regards to acceptance (and outright demonization and exploitation in some corners) from the “normal” world. But there’s no proselytizing in this piece. In fact, there’s a lot of self-deprecation among the players (Michael Chan, Simon Laherty, Sarah Mainwaring, and Scott Price) and within the group.
When Sarah, a young woman with a brain injury, freezes as she’s about to address the audience (it’s built into the script, one surmises), Scott – who wears an ‘Autism Pride’ T-shirt – quickly whips out his i-phone. “Hey Siri,” he asks the device, “What do you do when a disabled person panics?” The audience collectively bursts into laughter (which was undoubtedly a relief to those who found themselves wondering if it’s ‘okay’ to laugh at some of the fairly blunt self-assessments by the players), but more importantly, the exchange introduces another character – artificial intelligence in the form of Siri. When Siri begins speaking with Scott and giving him answers, Sarah turns on the device, angrily telling the disembodied voice that they’re “not a real person,” and that’s where the point of the play begins to subtly crystalize.
This is a production that can be enjoyed on a number of levels, and it isn’t contingent upon how (or if) the big picture idea strikes you. The individual characters each create their own bond with the audience (no easy trick for any performer in a 70 minute show), and it’s compelling to observe the group dynamic, particularly when we see them condescend to one of their own (Simon) whom they perceive to be of a lesser intellect. By the end, they’re as recognizable as any collection of oddball friends you’d meet at a local pub (my friends anyway). The larger message however, is not one you’re likely to encounter at the corner bar. For tickets and information, go to: https://artsemerson.org/
