Review: A BRIGHT ROOM CALLED DAY at The DC Arts Center

The performers invite the audience into the minds and lives of these Berlin-residing artists and activists, and carry us through their transition from an optimistic 1932 Berlin on the precipice of political change, to 1933 Germany inching towards descent at the hands of the Nazi regime. The characters Agness (Karen Lange), Paulinka (Amber Gibson), Anabella (Aubri O’Connor), Vealtninc (Zach Brewster-Geisz), Gregor (Joshua Aaron Poole), Rosa (Leahy), and Emil (Zach Walsh) introduce insurmountable questions that they must contend with: Does creating art about the horrors of the world rightfully expose evil or does it enable us to acquiesce to it? Is it worse to risk death of the body or death of the soul? Is supporting the lesser of political evils a defeat or a smart strategy to achieve progress? And, when the worst of humanity arrives, is it selfish to wait things out with plans to rebuild during better days, or to run away and seek refuge elsewhere? Each character ultimately comes to different conclusions as they search for their north star. These journeys are enriched by appearances of the devil (John Stange), the ghost-like Die Alte (Nancy Blum), and Zillah (Julia Klavans) a Reagan era nonconformist, who add pressure to these decisions and dynamism to the performance.

The show is long and its message is direct, but each story arc keeps the audience engaged throughout its nearly 3-hour duration. When the performance concludes, one cannot help but appreciate the creative set design, which takes you from a theater that is extremely small and intimate into a world of enormity, uncertainty, and fear.   

This engaging performance is a must see for those seeking theater that explores questions of art, activism, and the diverse manifestations of fear and compassion.