Friday, March 31, 2023
A Well-Intentioned Hell: A Review of “Babel” at Redtwist Theatre
Newcity Stage: It’s a solid idea that drives “Babel,” Jacqueline Goldfinger’s 2020 sci-fi drama now playing at Edgewater’s Redtwist Theatre under the direction of Rinska Carrasco-Prestinary. The playwright posits a future where narcissism—the impulse to exist in the world as a constructed, idealized image rather than an actual, embodied self—is no longer merely a common psychological condition, but instead has become universal and compulsory.
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I was intrigued when I saw that Babel was done in another theatre and has a review about it. I personally quite enjoy sci-fi stories and the dystopia that Jacqueline Goldfinger has created. The play obviously surrounds the topic of eugenics, but from there it also discusses problems regarding overpopulation, globalisation, capitalism, relationships and so many other issues that may not be obvious at first. This review by Irene Hsiao praises the acting and staging of the show but argues that the script appears like a “first draft” rather than a complete, ready product. Although I haven’t read the script myself, I can kind of see where this comment is coming from. At the time of watching, I couldn’t tell whether it was a director’s choice or a script thing, but I definitely felt like there were a lot of bigger, hidden themes that the characters brought up between their conversations that were then brushed aside. This is honestly a shame because as an audience, I wanted to hang on to those ideas, but felt like I was shoved along as the story continues on rather than having some time to dive deeper into them with the characters.
I really enjoyed myself watching babel when Carnegie Mellon School of Drama presented it a few months ago. I truly think it was a very powerful piece about how we see children. Specifically, the process of pregnancy. The story is about a mother in a nearby future. In this wacky world, due to the lack of resources (food, water, etc.) the government decides who deserves to live with society and who to banish from society. They do this to manipulate bully. It feels like someone that turns you away from, this show but I truly think it is a worthwhile watch. Our production was quite marvelous in the way that the technical design was foreshadowing. Foreshadowing that in this world, everything is artificial and influenced. In this case by the government.During the transitions the charadcters moved in a way that made them seem possessed. Following a path on the floor given to them.
As someone who worked on CMU’s production of Babel, I thought I had to write here. Babel is a show about the love we give to the people around us even in circumstances that want us to prove otherwise. This is the first time I am reading about someone else’s production of the show and it is interesting to see how things change from show to show. I think I have seen pictures of this production on the playwright’s Instagram as well and I do think the one thing I can say is that our stork was cooler. Our stork caused us a lot of grief but when it was all said and done the bird looked pretty damn awesome. As a child who comes from science that my parents needed to conceive my twin brother and me, Babel hits close to home in more ways than one. The other theatres that get to do this show are on track to have an incredible time.
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