A couple of years ago, playwright Lucas Hnath and Director Les Waters were working on a play called Dana H. (That one is coming to New York in February at the Vineyard Theatre.) During a conversation, Mr. Waters observed “well, it’s as if we’ve gone into a thin place at this point in the story.” Mr. Hnath asked, “What’s The Thin Place?” The response: “oh you know, it’s the place where the line between this world and some other world is very thin.”
This tremendously talented playwright jotted down “The Thin Place” on a scrap of paper thinking it would be a good title for a play. He “didn’t know what would happen in it; I just thought I’d like to write that play.” In the program notes, he advises his audience, “the less you know, the better.” That is true.
The stage is essentially bare with two comfortable chairs and a small table between them. Hilda is sitting with a mug of tea. She tells a story about her childhood and her love for her grandmother. They practiced psychic mind games. Grandma wanted to be able to communicate from the beyond in one of those thin places between our world and wherever the next world is.
In an excellent tight-lipped, anxiety-filled yet loosely modulated performance, Emily Cass McDonnell begins our journey to the supernatural. She is a big fan of Linda (Randy Danson) who is a famous medium who communicates with the dead. Emily has yet to connect with her grandmother. That’s the premise which begins this multi-dimensional tale filled with thoughtful ideas and structural twists and turns. The Thin Place is, once again, another outstanding play from Lucas Hnath.
The relationship between these two individuals develop. Belief systems are considered and challenged. Two other characters appear in the middle of the play (Kelly McAndrew and Triney Sandoval). A party atmosphere is punctuated by wine and conversation. Linda is working for a politician who does not connect with his constituents. She is giving him her techniques as a spiritual adviser. Is that moral to help someone insinuate themselves through mind control tricks?
The final section of the play is equally fascinating all the way until the final word is spoken. This tale has so many layers. The eeriness of a ghost story. The sadness of a child’s relationship with a mother who felt possessed by evil spirits. The inherent cynicism of human beings. Powerful belief foundations. Like his play, The Christians, Mr. Hnath sees complexity in his character’s motivations and thoughts. This isn’t simply a play about the thin place between life and the afterlife.
Our brains and the thin place between ambiguity and observational fact is the space explored so effectively here. Think about a creepy movie or personal experience. Was that the wind or something more dangerous? How our minds interpret information will come into play as an observer of this production. An incredibly entertaining and original play, The Thin Place demands discussion afterward.
Les Waters’ direction is simple and his actors beautifully travel through the various moods and structural adjustments in this absorbing work. The lighting design by Mark Barton is puzzling at first but becomes abundantly clear as the play progresses. This is an unique production which stimulates the senses and feels wholly original. The silence is as powerful as the noise. How will your brain fill in those moments as you ponder this story and its unfolding?
This is my fifth time admiring a play written by Lucas Hnath. Every one of them is excellent and highly recommended from Off-Broadway’s The Christians and Red Speedo to the two Broadway outings, Hillary and Clinton, and A Doll’s House, Part 2. In our current golden age of drama, I expect this storyteller and his works will stand tall on the list of best plays from the early 21st Century period.
The Thin Place has been extended through January 26, 2020 at Playwrights Horizons.