Red Bar

What I liked

The idea of a number of “recovering” serial killers meeting in secret AA style is a intriguing story idea that could be taken much further and explored much deeper in a very satisfying way. Strong performances from several cast members, with a particular shout out to Jeremiah Ripley’s Hallie who carried the first half of the show and stole the second half.

What I didn't like

The overall arc of the narrative felt incomplete and lacked focus. Some of this was exacerbated by inexplicable directorial choices and staging. We understand that the point of focusing the actors towards the audience rather than towards each other is supposed to help engage the audience, but it feels only half committed, as if we couldn’t decide on a more natural or stylistic approach, so we went part of the way there and stopped. The “interactive” nature of the show felt entirely like an afterthought- handing the audience a page to read aloud or having them repeat an oath with little follow up to make them feel as if they were truly part of the scene. And offering a random audience member an opportunity to participate in stage combat strikes me as dangerous- thankfully no one seemed sure if we were supposed to accept that offer or just feel uncomfortable in the moment so we all seemed to unanimously agree on confused silence. This premise deserves another look, though with major overhauls- if not a complete rewriting- to the script itself to create a more balanced and nuanced experience.

My overall impression

A very interesting premise that feels only half completed.