Titus Jildera in The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution
If you’re looking for a creepy Halloween activity that doesn’t involve killer clowns or bloodthirsty ghouls, we have the perfect solution for you. Coincidentally, if you’re also looking for an eerily relevant election-season event without Democrats and Republicans, we have the perfect solution for you. The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution, the new theatre experience presented by Rock Island Tunnel Co., will place you in a dystopian … . Future? Past? Present? Maybe all of the above, with definite echoes of 1984 and Fahrenheit 451.
Audience members are new arrivals in “The Nation.” They are given identity cards and some notes of local currency. They are then ushered into the performance space, where they can interact directly with the actors and ultimately decide if they want to align themselves with The Leader or join the brewing revolution. Partly improvised, partly scripted, the show’s primary narrative involves a citizen named Yevhen (Jeremy Mahr) and Internal Information Services (IIS) officer Conrad (Esteban Lopez). Directed by Ben Gougeon and adapted from an original script by Reader theatre reviewer Alex Richardson, The Tapes is making its debut at Moline's Sound Conservatory, and we caught the show on Saturday, October 12.
Kitty: In keeping with the authoritarian environment, we were forcibly separated right at the beginning of the night.
Mischa: Yes, our identity cards sorted us into different groups in which we began our tour of The Nation. Now, it is possible to avoid getting separated if that’s your wish, but we wanted to be able to experience different aspects of the performance independently. In any case, the whole experience is partly up to you to create as you explore the immersive setting, but is also sufficiently guided by cast members so that you don’t miss anything crucial.
K: Exactly. And our paths did cross at various points throughout the evening. So it wasn’t as if we were restricted from having contact.
M: As we wandered around, though, it was great to discover so many well-conceived and well-constructed spaces! Kudos to the design team overall, especially art director Dominic Ramirez, assisted by Laurie Rudbeck.
K: Each room is supplied with furniture, décor, and assorted clutter. Some of it is purely decorative, but sometimes, you might find insightful clues among the furnishings. The more information you gather, the better you’ll be able to understand The Nation and its inhabitants. Although, as someone who tends to get caught up in details, I wish we had been given some guidance at the beginning about how best to use our time while in the space. Specifically, that you don’t need to solve all the puzzles yourself in order to get the most out of the evening.
M: The various cast members, as citizens of The Nation, help the audience through, and they also add detail to the world-building: Each one has individualized stories to play out, and they were all completely engaged in their roles. Ultimately, though, everything hinges on the core story of Yevhen and Conrad, which is seen in Yevhen’s apartment. Mahr is fascinating to watch as he portrays the increasingly nervous and frustrated poet/maintenance worker who has something to hide.
K: The Yevhen/Conrad plot is the main thing in this show that’s fully scripted. And the audience is brought together by a “curfew” signal and officious IIS agents to witness the action. I was glad that the entire audience was guaranteed to see all of the interactions between Yevhen and Conrad; their conversations contained crucial information about how their society functioned. And Mahr and Lopez both created distinct characters with different motivations.
M: Yes! Balancing Mahr’s distress, Lopez demonstrates an increasing level of menace, while maintaining his attempts to create rapport with his target. The awkward cat-and-mouse game for me constitutes the thematic heart of the show. How far can either one show his hand without getting into trouble? And – not to give away too much – these scenes especially highlight the “tapes” of the title.
K: It’s interesting, because I immediately thought that the tapes, as a plot device, were inspired by The Handmaid’s Tale. In that book, the heroine’s story is recorded on a series of cassette tapes. But you found a parallel in a different dystopian novel.
M: It reminded me of the mysterious films in Philip K. Dick’s novel The Man in the High Castle. But audience members will just have to see for themselves what the tapes are, and what they mean.
K: And on their quest for meaning, guests can make use of different resources to get information. The actor in me really enjoyed being part of the action. A citizen might pull you aside to whisper a secret or pass you a note. You can even use the money you’re issued to bribe people for intel. But beware! Both of us were detained and interrogated by IIS officers for suspicious activity.
M: Overall, the whole experience was fascinating and compelling, and very well executed by all the performers. There was great attention to the smallest details … .
K: Although the overall precision made the slight imperfections more obvious. Little lapses sometimes took me momentarily out of the scene because the world, overall, was so well-crafted.
M: It’s tough, because they really set a high standard for themselves. My one criticism of the theme is that it came across as a bit too knowing – like, fascism served with a wink to the audience?
K: You’re right. What’s most terrifying is that people living under fascism are initially convinced that they want it. But we mainly see The Nation through a critical lens where its flaws are glaringly obvious. In the real world, a totalitarian regime would work harder to convince the populace that everything is good.
M: Still, I don’t need any propaganda to convince me to give The Tapes two big thumbs up!
K: It’s a unique show that will stay with you. Doubleplusgood!
Rock Island Theatre Co.'s The Tapes: An Immersive Revolution runs at the Sound Conservatory (504 17th Street, Moline IL) through October 26, and more information and tickets are available by visiting Facebook.com/RockIslandTunnelCo.
