There are few scripts so highly effective that no firm can mess them up. Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit is on the high of that brief listing. Even a kindergarten class trying a efficiency would probably nonetheless go away one pondering the character of existence, as a result of that’s what Monsieur Sartre devoted his highly effective thoughts to creating certain you do.
No Exit presents a concept of hell, which in fact can also be a concept of the human situation. The present is at the moment enjoying on the ARTfactory in Manassas, directed by David Johnson. The manufacturing is one lengthy act with no intermission — correctly, since this play has no climax or narrative arc. Three important characters present the fixed but chaotic dramatic rigidity.
Andrew Chi performs Vincent, a high-minded journalist and unremorseful louse. (Chi stepped into this function solely a few weeks earlier than opening night time, which makes his constant efficiency a powerful inventive feat.) Becca Parsons performs Inez, a secretary with a pointy mind and a pointy character, and Amantha Peterson performs Estelle, a senseless socialite devastated by the shortage of mirrors within the afterlife, who sits on the heart of their love-and-torture triangle.
Your complete present consists of those three characters butting up in opposition to one another as they mirror on their lives on Earth and course of their new circumstances now that it’s ended. These circumstances are easy. They’re trapped collectively in an unpleasant and uncomfortable ready room. There are not any whips, demons, or thumbscrews. The one ingredient per the normal Christian idea of hell is that it’s too scorching. But the characters know precisely the place they’re. And it doesn’t take lengthy for them to appreciate that they’ve been particularly chosen to torture one another for eternity. It seems, as Vincent famously places it, “Hell is different individuals.”
That is one among many strains that assault you with concepts. As you watch the characters squirm of their tiny jail, you watch them understand what is occurring, perceive the character of their torture, perceive that they theoretically have the flexibility to finish it at any second, and likewise perceive that they by no means will. Like an dependancy or a poisonous relationship, they know the supply of their struggling however are powerless to interrupt the cycle. Even when the hallway door bursts open, nobody is prepared to stroll out.
The ready room has no home windows and no technique to end up the obvious lights. (Anybody who has been caught at a “team-building” in a lodge basement assembly room understands the applicability of such a setting for torture.) However most significantly, there is no such thing as a sleep, no blinking even, and, as talked about, no mirrors. For the reason that characters can not see themselves or be alone with their very own ideas, every turns into what the others understand them to be. Strolling out of the door means strolling away from these perceptions. If a tree falls within the woods and nobody is there to listen to it, did it make a sound? If an individual exists however no different individual is there to understand them, do they actually exist in any respect?
The ARTfactory inventive staff and crew nailed the ambiance for presenting these unsettling questions. The lights (lighting design by Matthew Sirocky) are vibrant and nonetheless, and all is silent besides in flashbacks to Earth when the lights heat and dim. Immediately, we hear music (sound design by Chris Beatley), including dimension to those visions, which is then noticeably absent within the regular ready room exchanges.
The room itself and the stage are arrange in a triangle (scenic design by Lucas Weber), so every of the three characters has their very own nook. They’re thus at all times dealing with one another and appear to at all times have their backs in opposition to the wall. Along with it being a really small space, this fantastically aids the strain. The furnishings is uncomfortable on sight. The generic cursive “house” signal above the door is an skilled contact, as is the deep minimize indie tune enjoying earlier than and after the curtain. Neither Shazam nor I used to be in a position to establish it, however somebody on the ARTfactory discovered the perfect mood-setter.
No Exit is at all times a present price seeing as a result of it discusses concepts at all times price pondering. Sartre shouldn’t be identified for his optimism, however his existentialist philosophy has two sides. No Exit presents what occurs when people depend on the group for which means and identification. We’ve limitless, everlasting potential to torture ourselves and others. But when hell is a jail of our building, we even have limitless, everlasting potential to be our personal salvation. At any second, anybody who has the braveness to outline her personal path can take it. Simply because the characters fail to stroll out of the door after they have the prospect doesn’t imply we will’t take it.
Operating Time: One hour and 45 minutes, no intermission.
No Exit performs via September 27, 2026, offered by the Actors Theatre on the ARTfactory, within the Wind River Theatre (third flooring), 9419 Battle Road, Manassas, VA. Buy tickets ($28.29 for adults, $22.94 for college kids and seniors, together with charges) on-line or by calling (703) 330-2787.
