“Imagine Saw, if it came with party games and a Billy Ray Cyrus soundtrack.”
“Are we in Hell?” asks Mitchell. It’s not an unreasonable question — trapped in a mysterious room, he is blindfolded, bound to stranger David, and watched by an audience, unsure of what sinister fate awaits them. Above them, a screen flashes instructions, and we, too, are invited to join in the fun. Such is the bizarre and arresting set-up for A Very Clownless Show by Neta Roth which draws instant parallels to Saw and No Exit, except with more audience participation and Billy Ray Cyrus.
The audience is warned not to touch the two “clowns,” but encouraged to follow on-screen prompts: cheer, stamp their feet, throw balloons, or even feed the performers popcorn. In a darker twist, they’re invited to film the pair on a phone — a moment when the line between real suffering and entertainment blurs, prompting us to wonder whether we should help or hinder these two trapped men.
Our clowns form a classic odd-couple pairing. David, a middle-aged anti-woke loudmouth, boasts of his days as a bouncer when he’s not complaining about his ex-wife. Mitchell, by contrast, is a soft-spoken young man who blogs earnestly about mental health and sings Beatles songs as a self-soothing mechanism. On paper, they could easily slide into caricature, but the performances — by Jad Sayegh and Patrick Toomey — are so emotionally layered and physically committed that both men, and their plight, feel painfully real.
Each reveals a troubled past. David’s recent divorce follows an affair with a significantly younger colleague that turned toxic; Mitchell is haunted by a clandestine teenage romance marred by homophobic self-loathing. Their personal demons suggest that the “hell” they inhabit might be of their own making — punishment for the desires that led them astray.
Playhouse East proves an ideal setting: its cavernous, stripped-back space complements Polina Adamov’s bare, functional set. Sophia Golan does an admirable job of marrying believable drama with challenging technical elements. While the opening dialogue can feel sluggish and in need of refining, the later monologues — particularly Mitchell’s devastating breakdown — showcase the strength of Roth’s writing.
Unfortunately, the work feels like a play of two halves. The interactive game-show element doesn’t quite mesh with the more naturalistic drama, and the faceless voice issuing orders feels too detached to be truly menacing. As a result, the stakes remain frustratingly low. While the balloons raise a few laughs, I longed for the audience to be pushed further into discomfort, deepening the play’s moral conflict.Still, a beautifully bizarre set-up and two fearless performances make A Very Clownless Show a striking and original piece — one that blurs the line between punishment, voyeurism, and entertainment.