Review: The Exquisitely Entrancing Enigma of ECLIPSE ENCORE

The long-awaited album launch of singer-songwriter Sarah Eliza ended in a tragedy when she was found dead in her waiting room on the fourth floor of an upscale restaurant in Jakarta.

That is the premise of Eclipse Encore, a new interactive theatre show brought by Control by None. The show is the brainchild of Giovanni Harris as its artistic director, producer, and writer (alongside co-writer Gabriel Ariella). He collaborated with creative director Zaki Zainudin, stage & experience designer AR (ArtYouLooking), and Penn Jakarta to bring the show to live.

Eclipse Encore runs until November 9 at Penn Jakarta. The team from Broadwayworld Indonesia had the opportunity to experience and review the evening show on November 1. This review contains no major spoilers.

As they come in, audience members are seated around several tables according to their ticket category. The Penn operates as usual, with food and drinks available for purchase.

Eclipse Encore itself began unassumingly with the singer Lara Louisa (Dwynna Win) going to the mic and singing a song to open the album launch event. This particular show was held during Halloween weekend, meaning several of the cast members were decked out in costumes – and Lara’s costume of choice was Elphaba, sans the green paint. But she made up for it by singing an upbeat remix version of Defying Gravity for the second song.

Halfway through the third song, a scream came from upstairs. The Penn’s manager, Tommy Adhitya (Gerry Gerardo), had just found the body of Sarah Eliza. Lara’s opening act was cut abruptly.

As commotion began to ensue, an undercover detective by the name of Daniel Teck (Bukie B. Mansyur) took control of the situation. In particular, he called out to four people: the aforementioned Lara and Tommy, as well as Sarah’s manager Raihan ‘Ray’ Dani (Fadli Hafizan) and music mogul Gavin Malik (Hafidz Rahman).

The four of them were the only people with connections to Sarah. Detective Daniel then enlists the rest of the patrons – meaning, the show’s audience – to help crack the case.

From here on out, the show is highly interactive. The audience were split into groups to investigate the crime scene upstairs and interrogate the suspects downstairs in turns.

The crime scene was Sarah’s room. The late songstress’s body laid unmoving on the sofa, partially covered by black fabric. Her table was filled with indulgences of various kinds – alcohol, rolled lints, white powder, all indicating a troubled lifestyle. There were no signs of violence, only blood dripping from her mouth. 

All around the room were her belongings. The staff handed out rubber gloves to audience-turned-investigators to prevent forensic contamination. We were then able to investigate certain spots for clues, while other decorative areas were marked as such, helping to focus the investigation on said designated spots. Think diary pages, medicine labels, crumpled papers, contracts, Polaroid photos – thankfully, we were allowed to use our phones to take pictures of the numerous pieces of evidence.

Downstairs, we were free to interact with the four suspects.

The sheepish manager Tommy profusely apologized to the guests for the evening’s incident; he insisted he was only there to facilitate the album’s launch. He was also the first person to find the body. Was he merely in the wrong place at the wrong time?

As for Lara, she was another singer who knew Sarah. Although Lara’s career might not be nearly as successful, she agreed to be the opening act for the launch party. But what kind of feeling did she have while singing on the mic?

Then there was the manager, Ray. He had been working with Sarah for a long time now. A brusque and strong-willed man, what kind of ambitions did he have for Sarah – and himself – before tragedy struck?

And finally, the Singaporean Gavin Malik. A big shot in the music industry, he owned the record label that Sarah had started her career in. As a man of immense wealth and power, he was used to getting his way. Why did Gavin even go all the way to Jakarta from Singapore, on that fateful night?

During the investigation and interrogation segment, new pieces of evidence might crop up. Perhaps a voice recording, or even a video message. The suspects might antagonize each other, hinting at their tumultuous relationships. But at the end of the day, it falls to the audience to unearth clues and reveal secrets.

Towards the end, detective Daniel asked each table to discuss things together and come up with an answer to the question: who, or what, caused Sarah’s untimely death?

The ending to this play I shall leave for the audience to discover.

Eclipse Encore is a well-crafted show. It manages to balance immersion and storytelling, a testament to the writer’s experience creating similarly interactive shows in the past. I truly felt like I was in the middle of a case alongside my fellow restaurant patrons..

The opportunity to investigate the crime scene was something special. We were able to interact with physical pieces of evidence – picking up crumpled pieces of paper, leafing through a diary, opening a present box – making for fascinating tactile moments that elevated the whole experience.

The most enjoyable part, at least for me, was by far the interrogation. It was fun getting to know the characters directly, learning about their whereabouts and their relationships – both to the deceased and each other. 

But that is only the first layer. There are secrets that the characters themselves would not so easily divulge. It is deeply satisfying to find the right approach and/or hard evidence to crack open the suspects and learn more about the case.

Of course, this only worked due to astoundingly strong acting from everyone involved. With there being no separation between the characters and the audience, the actors needed to stay in-character whatever might come their way. Some audience members might try to confront them, while others might offer condolences. Others still – particularly their real life friends – might try to make them break character.
 
Not only that, the actors then had to give accurate information required to solve the case, at the right time. And they accomplished all that with aplomb. It is particularly fascinating as some of the actors are known mostly for their musical work – Eclipse Encore gives them an opportunity to showcase a new side of themselves.

That being said, there are a few aspects that I believe can improve the experience even further. First, as the audience members are instructed to give their conclusion together per table, it would be prudent to facilitate or encourage group bonding earlier. It is after all very likely that one would end up sharing a table with strangers; some notice that we’d be expected to work together would allow for better coordination during the investigation phase.

Secondly, the tension between the characters made the ensuing scenes between them felt very similar in tone. Of course, such animosity made sense narratively, but after the third or fourth shouting match, it began to feel rather repetitive. There were only a few moments of reprieve, such as a heartfelt voice note, or a comedic aside. Perhaps having a character who was less high-strung and antagonistic, even if they were less involved in the case, would help in adding more texture to the show.

Thirdly, there is the matter of complexity. The case of Sarah Eliza is quite complicated, with more than a dozen physical pieces of evidence, a timeline of events spanning years, and characters with hidden relationships. Although the audience is given a considerable amount of time to investigate, there is perhaps just a bit too much to consider, and too little hard evidence to definitively rule out any theory.

At my table, we had little time putting together what we learned and discussing our theories – after all, different people would pay attention to different aspects of the case. Some might focus on the whodunnit – trying to eliminate the possible suspects to find the one ultimately responsible for Sarah’s death. Others might focus on the whydunnit instead – who had the strongest motive to kill Sarah, or, inversely to keep Sarah alive. There is no right or wrong way to approach this, yet it is still challenging to unify these differing approaches to reach a reasonable conclusion.

As for how satisfying the solution is, it’s a very subjective topic. I believe it would elicit a wide range of reactions. Personally, I think more could’ve been done to put us in the frame of mind that would more likely lead us to the show’s conclusion.

But at the end of the day, the mystery’s solution is thematically appropriate and carries an important message. And, more importantly, the show is among the most engaging experiences I’ve ever had in recent memory. I found myself immersed in the mystery, feeling much like Watson or Inspector Hastings – trying to piece the clues together but never quite getting there, yet delighted all the same.

It was an evening full of intrigue and entertainment that felt fresh, regardless of how close you got to figuring out the truth behind the case. The cast members and writer also mingled with the audience after the show, making for a delightful post-show discussion. If you like mystery and/or interactive theatre, you could do much worse than Eclipse Encore.

Eclipse Encore is still going until November 9. The show contains intense moments as outlined in the program book, and audience members can leave and rejoin at any time, with a designated quiet area. In some performances, the role of Ray will be played by Aldafi Adnan.

For the full schedule and tickets, check out their ticketing page.

To post a comment, you must register and login.

Don't Miss a Indonesia News Story Sign up for all the news on the Fall season, discounts & more...