Are You the Last Bite? (review)

Spoilers ahoy!

I caught this (almost) one woman show on its last performance here in Los Angeles.  The creator, Yixin Wang, told me this piece is very personal and "very much a work in progress."  Have zero idea when or where you might have a chance to see this work, but when such an opportunity arises, go.  Just go.

Are You the Last Slice? proved to be a magnificent example of what I call "theatre of dreams."  Rather than a tale told about the world in which we live--with or without some kind of style (such as a musical, puppets, verse, etc.)--the play is more akin to a dream.  A dream performed on stage, to be taken (and understood) that way.  

In this case, though, it felt not so much a dream to watch, but a dream I myself was having.  It literally began the moment I walked into the theatre, as we the audience were welcomed, informed this was an upcoming bride's apartment, and given things with which to adorn the bride.

We had become part of the dream.

Soon, after we'd explored the space, gotten some hints as to the bride and her identity (subtle but clear hints of strong dichotomies at play), we all sat down and two men brought Wang onto stage.  Carried like a mannequin.  Unmoving.  Almost unblinking.  Posed as they examined her exactly like an object, decorated with a wedding dress and silver shoes.  I say decorated because this was done much the same way one mounts curtains, or puts ornaments on a Christmas tree.

Then we were invited to do the same.  

Rarely have I felt so sucked into a world on stage, so much so at one point I genuinely felt the urge to go on stage!  As Wang at one point struggled to push this wedding gown off her body, a garment clearly designed to need help either donning or exiting, I very nearly stood up to help her!  Only my belief this was part of the show made me stop--and at that it was a near thing!  

At just about one hour, Wang's performance mesmerized me.  Everything seemed without rhyme or reason, even to the point of eating a piece of red velvet cake at one point (a close up of her face doing so projected against the back wall).  Yet it all seemed perfect, the way every tiny shade of color seems vital in a Rothko painting or every note in an instrumental work of music.  At the end I was left shaken, and haunted, and full of curiosity as well as hope for this character I barely knew, yet had exposed so much.

If you get a chance, my advice remains.  Go.  See this. 

This performance was at the Actor's Company, 916 A North Formosa Ave West Hollywood, CA 90046, which is also a venue for the upcoming Hollywood Fringe Festival.