IT’S SAFE TO DRAW YOUR OWN CONCLUSIONS AT HOUSE
St. Ann’s Warehouse, in association with New York’s Irish Arts Center, presents Safe House, a one-person song cycle originally produced at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre. Running for a limited engagement through March 2, this haunting and esoteric production has a pile-driving performance by Kate Gilmore.
Walsh describes the show as “a series of events that are fractured,” leaving the audience to piece together its chronology “as if peering through a scrapbook.” While this approach offers an intriguing narrative puzzle, it also suggests a reluctance to commit to a singular interpretation. Writer and director Enda Walsh places the burden of coherence on the viewer, allowing for multiple readings but potentially sacrificing a more guided emotional arc.
Musically, Safe House is an atmospheric experience. Anna Mullarkey’s compositions, combined with Gilmore’s ethereal vocals, evoke shades of Björk—haunting, otherworldly, and at times unsettling. Whether softly crooning in stillness, belting into a handheld microphone, or singing and dancing with rave-like intensity, Gilmore’s vocal performance is mesmerizing.
Her physical performance is just as relentless. For 90 uninterrupted minutes, she sings, dances, rolls out rugs, rearranges furniture, climbs, changes costume, brushes her teeth, and ultimately smears blood across her face and princess dress. What it all means is up to you. Yes, clearly, she inhabits a character desperately searching for safety and healing, yet the patchy nature of the story leaves her fate uncertain.
The title, Safe House, feels ironic. The stage, designed by Katie Davenport, resembles anything but a refuge—an abandoned handball court littered with Grace’s personal effects, televisions, and household appliances. A rolling platform with a toilet stacked on top and a hidden compartment filled with clothes further contribute to the surreal aesthetic. Jack Phelan’s video design projects memories onto the upstage wall, including a chilling childhood birthday party devoid of joy, later mirrored by an equally bleak adult gathering. Televisions flicker with images of Snow White and a wedding, while a young girl—Grace’s past self—looms throughout, adding to the play’s eerie undertones.
Helen Atkinson’s sound design is immersive and grand, while Adam Silverman’s lighting keeps the atmosphere constantly shifting. The result is a strikingly produced piece of experimental theater that challenges, unsettles, and mesmerizes. If fragmented storytelling and avant-garde theatricality are your cup of tea, Safe House is well worth experiencing.
photos by Ste Murray courtesy of St. Ann’s Warehouse
Safe House
Abbey Theatre
in association with Irish Arts Center
St. Ann’s Warehouse, 45 Water St in Brooklyn (on the waterfront in Brooklyn Bridge Park)
90 minutes, no interval
ends on March 2, 2025
for tickets, visit St. Anne’s Warehouse
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