Rift, Or White Lies

There is so much groundbreaking theatre happening right now in my area.  Every time I see a show, I realize this more and more.  Rift, Or White Lies playing at InterAct is definitely one of these groundbreaking shows.  At first glance, it wouldn’t seem like anything too different.  You have two actors, a simple set, and a simple premise.  One brother in jail, one brother on the outside.  But this show is hiding a lot that needs to be unpacked.  And this really applies to every aspect of it.  From the presentation of what we’re watching to the very bones of the show.

When I say the very bones of the show, I’m really talking about one thing in particular.  Something extraordinarily cool about Rift, Or White Lies, is that every show, the actors switch roles.  This is remarkable in so many ways.  These two actors have to learn two parts.  That’s two sets of lines, two sets of stage direction, two sets of unique characters.  This is so powerful to me.  It’s hard enough figuring out one part, let alone perfecting two.  This structure in itself is groundbreaking.  Watching these actors, knowing they’re going to be swapping roles the next night, is a treat, even if I don’t get to see it.

On a very basic level, we’re watching two brothers.  They’re fascinating together, too.  Even aside from the part where one is in jail and one isn’t, the two could not be any different.  Their childhoods were different, their life experiences were different, and the paths they took could not be any more different.  Watching them and watching Rift, it’s so clear that for as different as they are, the way they play off each other has a naturalness to it.  I really felt like I was watching these brothers together through the years.

Rift pushes a lot of boundaries.  There’s so much play of what is right and what is wrong, and the blurring of lines.  I don’t think either of them was completely faultless, which was very interesting.  It raises a lot of questions.  Where do you draw the line?  What are those little white lies versus the much bigger ones.  What are the real issues when we’re talking about lives like this.  There were times where I felt the closeness of the brothers, and times where they couldn’t be farther apart.  It was really interesting.

There’s so much depth in this show.  Afterwards, I really felt like I was pulling back layers.  Can these brothers trust each other?  Sometimes yes, sometimes no.  Do they feel betrayal?  Both of them definitely do.  Do they respect each other?  In their own ways, definitely not, but at times they do.  Gabriel Jason Dean’s scriptwriting is impeccable at showing all of this.  I had questions, and I really feel like I got answers…even if most questions bloomed from that.  Something beautiful about this is that it’s based in his true story.  And obviously, he knows the story better than any of us.

There were just so many hard hitting themes in Rift that carry through everything.  I think that’s why a lot of this has really sat with me.  The show doesn’t back away from hard messages and hard realities.  It definitely wasn’t an easy play to watch, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t tear my eyes away from it.  The ending was just so breath taking (don’t worry, I won’t give anything away!) and I just wanted to watch it all over again afterwards.  Rift is a play that is unafraid to tackle the hard things and bring a very poignant message afterwards.

The simplicity of Rift really lent to the beautiful storytelling.  We really didn’t need much to be completely blown away.  I loved the set…on one side of the stage was the outside brother’s office space, and the other side had the jailed brother’s jail area.  In the center was a table, which was where most of the action happened.  It was stark and stunning.  We really saw the two different worlds, and the middle, where they met.  Costumes were basic, as were lights and sounds…though that definitely didn’t mean it wasn’t striking.  I thought that, for as basic as they made it, that was really all they needed to make a lasting impression.

This is one of those shows that, if I lived in the city, I would definitely go back and see.  I think there’s still so much to it that I didn’t fully get to take in, and I would have loved the chance to see the actors reversed.  But it was a truly haunting tale that will sit with me for some time.  Every part of Rift resonated with me.  I could see parts of myself in it, and I’m sure I’m not the only one.  It was truly superior storytelling and a gift to the theatre world.