#sohorep

Passage is a fantasia on class, colonialism and connections between different groups of people. It discusses difficult topics on the one-on-one level without calling out specifics, allowing for the audience to fill in for Country X, Country Y, and anything else. No one person seeing it will have the same experience, since every single person’s life is different in the way they see things, the way they experience things. And yet, in the end, the play is able to bring everyone into a similar state of mind. It’s beautiful and thought provoking, sparking conversation as people leave the theater.

One of its greatest assets in this production was the glorious sound design. There is a surround sound speaker system in a 360 degree area, which allows there to be so much more intricacy in it. Through sound, the audience can identify where someone is walking, the underlying tone of a tense moment, and the continuous usage of it highlights the moments where there is no sound, when the whole theater is silent except for the words being said.

In addition to the sound, the lighting is used wonderfully. With a theme such as a dark cave meant to bring enlightenment and truth that people aren’t ready to face, light becomes an important visual symbol that is casually interspersed in the beginning before the audience realizes how important it is to the overarching story, beyond the conflict between Country X people and Country Y people.

This is a play of mysticism and to challenge the way people think. It doesn’t tell a traditional story in the way that there’s a beginning middle and end, an arc and character growth. Instead, it focuses on the experience. What do people think when they see this? Would they think of their own country or a different one? Would they have any frame of reference at all?

Upon leaving the theater, somebody told me that they felt bad for not feeling something poignant and significant at the end of the play. And yet, I think that was the point. The play says that there is no easy thoughtful answer to anything in life, that everyone experiences everything differently and it is impossible to really bring people to the same side and place mentally. And that’s because of the differing experiences and the way we think about them in different ways.

Rating: 5/5

Tickets Available through May 26:

https://sohorep.org/passage

Trigger Warning: continuous haze throughout the whole play and a gunshot sound.

Cast and Creative:

Andrea Abello -- Q

Purva Bedi -- H

Yair Ben-Dor -- R

Lizan Mitchell -- G

K. K. Moggie -- B

Howard W. Overshown -- D, J, S, Gecko, Mosquito

Linda Powell -- F

David Ryan Smith -- M

Christopher Chen -- Playwright

Saheem Ali -- Director

Arnulfo Maldonado -- Scenic Design

Toni-Leslie James -- Costume Design

Amith Chandrashaker -- Lighting Design

Mikaal Sulaiman -- Sound Design

Ryan Courtney -- Props Design

J. David Brimmer -- Fight Director

Nicole Marconi -- Production Stage Manager