Review: FALLEN SAINTS: TALES OF BLAZE CITY at Sawyer’s Playhouse
The show haunts North Hollywood through September 26
Force of Nature Productions is back with a FALLEN SAINTS: TALES OF BLAZE CITY, another creative and creepy look into the human soul. Taking place in the titular Blaze City, three guides tell us different stories about the unreliable and disturbing denizens of the troubled town and how their life force is being drained by some foreign entity. Taking inspiration from graphic novel like “Sin City” and “The Sandman,” the entire experience is a breathtaking descent into darkness as you’re manipulated from room to room, never sure what to expect. It plays like a goth noir version of “Clue” or a “Choose Your Own Adventure” book because to see the outcome of each story, you need to see each track of the show separately, but with each being about 50 minutes, you could technically see them all in one night.
Playwright Tyler Bianchi weaves a complicated and surprising story, haunting but with flashes of humor, made especially complex by having to lace the three threads into one complete narrative while also ensuring each stands on its own — and that they fit into the larger universe that Fallen Saints has been building since 2016 — while taking us on a walking tour that’s like popping us into† the 1920 German silent experimental film “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari” in all its heightened and angular beauty in black and white.
Director Sebastian Muñoz keeps the energy buzzing as the audience — topped at an intimate 20 guests for a peak experience — is shuttled from room to room. It’s astonishing what Muñoz and company have done in such a limited space. It’s tight quarters even with such a small group and, depending upon where you are in the crowd, it may be difficult to see. Keep in mind that there’s a fair amount of walking, including stairs, and standing.
The immersive experience means you may be called on to participate, but you will not be forced into anything unsavory unless you would like to be led so astray. The set design by Jerry Chappell and Redetha Deason and the costumes and makeup by Melissa Muñoz are all chillingly creepy, looking like “A Nightmare Before Christmas” gone very wrong. The effects by Tricia Guthrie Minty are surprising and each of the actors commits to the madness effectively, completing the bizarre circle.
Though the stories are gothic and disturbing, there is a humanity lurking somewhere in the shadows. What Fallen Saints does so well is create worlds of horror that are only a few steps from where we are in the world ourselves, offering a mirror to the underside of our own lives. It’s a perfect pregame aperitif for the imminent Halloween season.
Photos credit: Sebastian Muñoz
FALLEN SAINTS: TALES OF BLAZE CITY is performed at the Sawyer’s Playhouse, 11031 Camarillo in North Hollywood, through September 26. Tickets are available at fonproductions.com
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