THE MOUNT EVEREST OF PLAYS
It’s hard to say what is the most breathtaking aspect of the Apollinaire Theatre Company’s masterful production of Touching the Void: Is it David Greig’s deeply satisfying script based on Joe Simpson’s memoir of the same title? Is it the fantastic acting by Patrick O’Konis (amazing as climber Joe), the amusingly irritating Zach Fuller (base camp manager Richard), or the more than terrific performances of Kody Grassett (climber Simon) and Parker Jennings (Joe’s sister Sarah)? Or perhaps the credit goes to award-winning director Danielle Fauteux Jacques, who also handles lighting design.
Zach Fuller as Richard, Patrick O’Konis as Joe
Then again, we cannot ignore the incredibly creative scenic and sound design by Joseph Lark-Riley, who by turns transforms a small stage into a climbers’ pub and an Andean peak with only the most low-tech props and equipment. In the end, it is the combination of all these elements that create an utterly absorbing and gratifying night of theater. My companion and I were still talking about it the next day, still attempting to unravel the complex story.
Parker Jennings as Sarah, Patrick O’Konis as Joe
As the play unfolds, we gradually realize that the story we think we are seeing it not the story we are actually being told. I’m not going to reveal that, because much of the pleasure of the play lies in figuring out what it is we have witnessed. But before we get to that point, the actors convey the exhilaration, danger, and heartbreak that serious climbers know—and again and again raise the question of why? Why climb these mountains? Why take these risks? The play suggests the standard response, “Because it’s there” (attributed to British mountaineer George Mallory, who took part in the first British expeditions up Mount Everest and died during an 1924 expedition), but somehow that answer is not fully satisfying, and we are treated to tidbits of additional climbing history, most notably through references to German climber Tony Kurz, who died tragically on the nearly vertical face of the Eiger in Switzerland, even as we see the real-life story of climbers Joe and Simon play out before us.
Kody Grassett as Simon, Zach Fuller as Richard,
Parker Jennings as Sarah, Patrick O’Konis as Joe
Though the whole production takes place on a small floor-level stage, the physical demands of the set as well as the acting leave some of performers drenched in sweat and obviously spent. We sense the pain of Simon’s choice to cut the rope that connects him to his climbing partner, whom he believes to be dead or at the very least, beyond rescue. We learn, too, what is required to survive in demanding circumstances—not simply the physical requirements, but the mental and psychological requisites. You will leave this production wondering whether you have what it takes to survive in the kinds of conditions so skillfully portrayed through the sound, light, scenic design, and acting of this wonderful production at Chelsea Theatre Works. Even if you think you do not, you will be grateful to have had this glimpse of the rush that climbers who face such life-and-death risks experience.
Kody Grassett as Simon, Patrick O’Konis as Joe
photos by Danielle Fauteux Jacques
Touching the Void
Apollinaire Theatre Company
Chelsea Theatre Works, 189 Winnisimmet St in Chelsea, MA
ends on May 19, 2024
for tickets ($15-$30), call 617.887.2336 or visit Apollinaire