With any kind of art, whether it’s movies, television, or live theatre, being in the right headspace for what you’re about to see can make a huge difference. That goes double with immersive theatre because of its very nature. So when it came time for CoAct Productions’ new show, The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite, I was just not feeling it. It had been a long week at work, it was 10:30 at night, it was a Thursday. Then it started and it put me in a much more active role than I had expected. The feeling got a little worse.
Thankfully, Welcome to Respite is something special.
By the time I walked out, my mind was racing, I was feeling electric. If they had offered to let me walk into the second part, I would have done it in a heartbeat.
Let’s rewind though. Welcome to Respite is the first of four shows that will make up The Severance Theory. The series casts the single audience member per show as Alex, someone who is grappling with dissociative identity disorder. Alex’s mother has died and left her home to you, so you’ve got to meet with the real estate agent to get all the paperwork squared away. Once she goes to find the keys, Alex is dragged back into a specific memory: one where you’re seven and have just returned to stay with your parents after living with your aunt.
Alex’s mother and father, Molly and Michael, played by Kelley Pierre and Payden Ackerman, treat and talk to you as if you’re actually their seven year old kid that they haven’t seen in a year. This conceit runs the length of Welcome to Respite and, I’ll admit, it took me a few minutes to really buy into it. Eventually though, it started to gel. And then by the end, I realized how well it was built into the very fabric of the show in a way that truly benefits the story CoAct is telling. Plus, you know those short, weird, awkward answers you end up giving in immersive theatre? They make a whole lot more sense when you’re a seven year old.
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As the story unfolds, pieces of it are left untold. Molly and Michael aren’t aware of what happened over the previous year, and they reference things Alex’s aunt has told them, but the pieces don’t seem to line up. This leaves everyone, including the audience as Alex, in the dark. That serves two purposes. The first is that The Severance Theory has been designed in four parts and the information here will spool out across all of them to tell the whole story. These are formative memories and it’s likely Alex, and by design, the audience will return to them in the course of upcoming events. That offers the audience a series of small teases, mysteries, and cliffhangers to keep them coming back. The second is that, in dealing with dissociative identity disorder, Alex may not be aware of the events either. It’s a smart and efficient way for CoAct to blend both the form and function of the story they’re telling.
The whole thing is grounded by a kind of naturalism. Outside of a few select moments, Welcome to Respite is interested in exploring the dynamic between Molly, Michael, and Alex. The script makes sure you feel the awkwardness that would come from spending that much time apart. No one is quite sure how to act around Alex and your parents are just trying their best. Pierre gets the hardest job as the put-upon mom. She clearly has genuine love and affection for Alex even if she isn’t sure how to express it. Ackerman mostly gets to play the part of goofy dad but steps up to the plate for some meatier material when called upon. Together, they capture a picture of a family. They bicker some, they chat some, and through it all, it’s clear that they care about each other and their kid, even if it isn’t perfect.
Of course, sometimes a show needs to build in one direction so it’s more impactful when it tears down its own rules. And that’s what happens here with tremendous effect. When the show shifts forms, it takes advantage of Alex’s age to call back to a visceral childhood fear. The moment is scarier and more unsettling that a lot of the horror found in immersive theatre.
And I think, in a way, that’s emblematic of the whole show. Welcome to Respite makes the smart choices every time it needs to, all the way from the onboarding to the dismount. It sets up the premise of the show, eases you into its world, and establishes who Alex is (with a little help from you), and then lets everything follow from those decisions. CoAct doesn’t try to add more spinning plates, and that restraint is in and of itself, a smart choice. By carefully crafting the show, they make sure it all matters, for Alex, and for you.
The Severance Theory: Welcome to Respite is currently sold out. CoAct Productions has announced a remount before the second chapter of The Severance Theory.
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