Review: MY BEDROOM IS AN INSTALLATION at Imago Theatre

Insomnia can do strange things to a person – confusion, mood swings, hallucinations. MY BEDROOM IS AN INSTALLATION, now onstage at Imago Theatre, dives headfirst into the inner chaos of a woman battling an epic lack of sleep. The play, which runs about 60 minutes, feels like an extended version of those weird hallucinations you have when you’re somewhere between sleep and wakefulness. It’s disorienting, but also familiar. 

The play, by Jerry Mouawad and Drew Pisarra, opens with a woman (played by Anne Sorce) facedown on an impossibly high bed (a ladder is required) in a room full of boxes (is she moving in or moving out?). She clearly hasn’t slept in a while – she doesn’t recognize her environment, and she sees nothing unusual about the presence of a silent white-clad figure (played by Sam Gordon), who also inhabits the space.

She names him Solo, and he’s not her only roommate. There’s also a puppet named Whip. As the woman tries to figure out who she is, where she is, why she’s there, how to get out (there’s no door), and, most importantly, how to get some sleep, the two other characters exist as both hallucinations and extensions of her psyche. It’s an existential crisis of the highest order.

Anne Sorce delivers a powerful performance in what is essentially a one-person show (she also provides the voice for Whip, and Solo doesn’t talk at all). Everything is odd, but at the same time makes total sense, just like when you’re in that liminal dream space. Sorce inhabits this space so expertly that even things get really bizarre, her struggle is real and palpable.

Or maybe it’s just a big joke. Maybe we were in a Marina Abramović-style performance art piece after all. We’ll never really know.

If you’re into the kind of weird, surreal theatre that will make you feel like everything is a degree or two off kilter, definitely check out MY BEDROOM IS AN INSTALLATION. I can’t say that I entirely understood it, but I did thoroughly enjoy it.