Clare Barron’s SHHHH at Atlantic

[JBroadway]

Posted: 1/26/22 at 10:19am

From the writer of 2018’s DANCE NATION at Playwrights Horizons.

I saw this last night, and I’m slightly at a loss for how to describe it. Last night my partner asked me “what was the show like?” and I sat there basically stumbled over my words for a full minute, trying to know where to begin.

Firstly: it’s very strange - often funny, often upsetting. Clare Barron writes, directs, and stars in it – and there’s a clarity to her vision that keeps the show afloat, even when it’s pretty perplexing. This show’s style and concept could have easily crumbled in on itself, but under her keen direction, her writing really soars. The acting is also really strong all around. There are 2 actors who are only in 1 scene, and yet it’s one of the best scenes in the show.

To drastically oversimplify the “plot,” it’s basically about 2 sisters living in New York, and their sexual + romantic experiences helping them to get in touch with themselves, and with their own bodies. Again, that description does NOT do justice to what the show is actually like.

The dramatic structure is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. It’s sort of vignettes, sort of a plot. Sort of abstract, sort of literal. Sort of absurd, sort of realistic. It’s not particularly satisfying, but it’s not trying to be. The story doesn’t “go anywhere” in the traditional sense. But there are thematic threads that come together, and reach a kind of loose cohesion by the end – but it’s also partly up to interpretation. And it’s very absorbing a bizarre sort of way. It also includes scenes of ASMR.

There’s a LOT of content that some might want to be aware of. I’ll put it in a spoiler box just in case, but consider reading it anyway. It could help you decide whether or not the show is for you:

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

The show has graphic descriptions of sexual activities, gory injuries, scatological health issues, and descriptions of sexual assault / rape culture (such as guys pressuring women to have sex without condoms – things like that). There’s also a scene depicting some sexual sadism (which is mostly consensual, but it’s suggested that the person on the receiving end isn’t totally into it). Also, there’s onstage flames, cigarettes, and incense.

Also note that some of the audience is sitting on cushions or an onstage mattress. These are assigned seats though, so if it doesn’t sound comfortable to you (it didn’t look comfortable), just don’t buy the first 2 rows, or rows M or N.  

This will certainly be very divisive. Many people will hate it, and I totally understand why. And many people probably just shouldn’t see it. Overall, I found it very compelling, but parts of it were pretty intense for me as a squeamish person. At times it felt gratuitous, but I think in the end I got a good sense of what she was going for.

I’d also note that this is somewhat MORE intense, and LESS accessible than Dance Nation, which was already a pretty weird show.

Updated On: 1/26/22 at 10:19 AM

[Raspberry]

Posted: 1/30/22 at 11:03pm

I caught it yesterday.  I really enjoyed this one, but I was similarly struck on how best to describe it to some friends today without spoiling. 

For all their trigger warnings about the more extreme content, I thought the most striking/impactful parts were the more straightforward scenes.  Clare Barron has such a strong voice and an incredible ear for dialogue.  She creates these wonderfully compelling conversations between characters that are always dancing between tragedy and comedy, realism and touches of absurdism.  There are several bits of dialogue that I haven't gotten out of my head.  The last few lines really stuck with me too, and sort of reframed how I thought about the play as a whole.

I agree that the scene JBroadway mentioned is maybe the strongest.  Clare is a bystander through a lot of that section, but she gives this incredible reactive performance as a listener, and I found myself watching her for most of the time (though the actors are excellent all around).  And despite the subject matter, it will definitely make you want to grab a slice after...I'd recommend Rocky's around the corner on 14th & 8th. 

Also I can confirm that the cushion seating is as uncomfortable as it looks, maybe more so.  I didn't know about the seating until I arrived, but my lower back will be working through that for a few days.  I ordered through TDF, and I'm guessing they use TDF and their rush program to fill in the cushions, so if sitting on the floor in a space the size of a theater seat for 100 minutes isn't for you, maybe spring for a proper ticket. (To be fair, I see the seating was clearly described on ATC's website and on the TDF listing...I'm just not someone who reads a lot about a show before I see it, so I missed that info.)

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 1/31/22 at 11:39am

JBroadway said: "And many people probably just shouldn’t see it."

Everything about this sounds like a nightmare to me. Whatever its artistic merits, I can't imagine enjoying a second of it.

[BroadwayGirl107]

Posted: 2/1/22 at 2:15pm

I saw this a few nights ago, and I just couldn't wait for it to end. For something that seemed to think it was being interesting, topical, or shocking, I found it to be dull and boring. Nothing about it felt fresh or new, and it's take on sexual assault seems to have been handled with greater insight, entertainment value, and humor, by the likes to someone like Amy Schumer 7 or 8 years ago. It was just...stale. 

I also found it difficult to watch Barron act. I found her to seem uncomfortable on stage and just didn't seem like she fit in with a cast of professional actors. 

The only saving grace was a wonderful Constance Shulman.