My overall impression
As both a theatre artist and patron for almost twenty years now, the idea of leaving my cell phone on during a show is absolutely horrifying, for fear of it going off. However in Dreams from a Dead City, you are not only encouraged to leave your phone on, but even answer it if someone calls. Scandalous!
This show is a fascinating analysis of morality, mortality and the nature of existence in the digital age. Does “Cognito, ergo sum” apply when the entire sum of your mass can be measured in electrons and lines of code?
I loved the interactive elements of the show – audience members getting calls from actors on stage or planted in the house, being encouraged to shoot video of the performance and replay it at certain points, etc. However, the script is very deep, and I admit that I got lost at one point when the script took a left turn down the philosophical rabbit hole and I missed it because I was trying to fire off a tweet about the experience.
Overall, Dreams from a Dead City is a fantastic experience that is worth your time to check out. Go see it, and don’t forget to turn on your phone!
