View: HAG
Often the Weird Sisters speak in medieval rhyme…otherwise like in modern time.
An Immersive Scene Los Angeles View
A clever turn it is to set HAG, the latest pocket production from the Queen’s Fools, in a decrepit theatre rather than pretty much anywhere else, for it’s in one that the show’s inspiration was conceived some four hundred years ago by the reliable pen of one William Shakespeare. But now we’re in the presence of the Bard’s three witches once again, not at The Globe in London, but in modern-day Los Angeles, in this inventive and eerie contemporary continuation of the Weird Sisters' tale.
Before you enter that theatre, or even after you exit, it’s quite fine to utter the word “Macbeth,” but only because you understand the cardinal rule: never refer to the play’s progenitor by its protagonist’s name alone. Instead, inside, it’s only the Scottish Play, or, if you must, The Tragedy of Macbeth. To do so inside means pure trouble.
But trouble is what you’ve signed up for, and all for a lousy hundred bucks. Blame Craigslist if you want. Many already consider it the portal to Hades. It was there that you replied to Dillon’s ad to help him clear out some squatters who’ve taken up residence in the theatre’s attic. You and three others, that number being an absolute must, will earn your future Venmo payment only if you can clear out the three peculiar troublemakers who refuse to leave. When your new boss meets you down the block from the theatre revealing a broken arm in a sling, from presumably having tried to do so himself, consider yourself duly warned.
But a lousy hundred bucks is still a hundred bucks. You and the trio with you aren’t too easily intimidated, so you follow Dillon down a sketchy alley toward the theatre’s back door. Nice enough guy, even if he wants to turn the joint into a fusion restaurant that sounds like a place that won’t even get two stars on Yelp. Who knows, maybe you’ll even find Dillon’s missing puppy, Duncan, and score some bonus cash too.
Inside the dusty theatre, it’s dark and deserted, with no protective ghost light in sight (yet another theatre taboo broken), so anything foul or fair is possible upstairs; likely the former. And Dillon’s already said “Macbeth” at least four times, so we’re basically fecked!
Climbing the rickety stairs to the attic, you can already hear a ruckus above and are now pondering the impending confrontation with the Wayward Sisters from the Bard’s masterpiece. You wonder just how weird they’ll be. Harmless weird as in a few threats or invectives hurled our way as we haul them out, or something far worse than a broken arm. Maybe a spell that turns you into forty-foot neon clown. It is Halloween after all, and this is NoHo. But a hundred bucks…yeah, yeah.
Turning around before you enter the attic, you realize Dillon has flown the coop. It’s just the four of you now, and here approach the chanting, then screeching, sisters themselves, their tormented faces, accusatory eyes, and prophetesses’ incantations well-readied to send you away….maybe permanently.
“Are you here to take us away?” declares Col as the witches surround you to size up their quarry. But rather than cause harm, they seem more interested in studying us, charming us, and maybe even recruiting us for something. “Would you like to be King?” Attie whispers in your ear. Don’t fall for the false flattery like the Scottish Lord did, for 'Double, double toil and trouble' isn't far behind.
HAG is as much an up-very up-close immersive experience as can be found in the Los Angeles immersive world. The spookily fun and short experience locks you in close quarters in the modest attic and literally has the witches surrounding you, toying with you, and ultimately luring you into their sistren. The tragic threesome soon reveal that a sorcery seven might be their new preferred number, and your forever fate, if you can follow some rules, help them find the necessary ingredients for their big incantation, and, along the way, perhaps even help them navigate their readily apparent sibling rivalry. Maybe they’re not really sisters beyond their bond as witches, but they sure can push buttons like them.
While the only supernatural activity these three, direct from 11th-century Scotland to modern-day L.A., seem to be engaging in at present is an unhealthy, under-a-spell fixation with video games, they soon shake off their boredom and fall into an excited lockstep in their mission to induct you into their coven. “Rejoice, Sisters,” says one. “Our time in exile is complete!"
Dang, they see us as liberators.
As the spooky Sisters, Clo (Aly Trasher), Attie (Anja Racic), and LaLa (Morgan Taylor), the three scare you a bit, charm you a bit, and even make you, surprisingly, care about them a bit (call it common sibling experience), even as they never let you fully get comfortable with the underlying knowledge that you could end up worse than Dillon’s missing doggie if you don’t join their mission. Their darkened eyes tell their own tales.
The actresses are a triumvirate force, all terrific in their wicked portrayals. No chappy fingers or beards here, but the Weird Sisters certainly look their part with pale makeup and wardrobe that feels appropriate for a Scottish castle or a Valley theatre attic. Trasher as Clo plays the underappreciated older Sister and her pent-up angst with special care, and Taylor as on-the-prowl LaLa is hilarious. Racic nails the modern-day embellishments that are woven into the otherwise Shakespearean vibe.
As Dillon, the always wonderful Mason Conrad doesn’t so much seem to be acting here as just being, quite perfectly. “Fuckin’ squatters, right? Dude.” He inhabits the body of a dude we’ve all known at one time or another. Conrad’s direction of the one-act piece is deft yet unassuming.
The story, written by Taylor and Conrad, (with due credit given to Shakespeare), is lean, eerie, and, in fine Queen’s Fools fashion, just a little silly and irreverent. You might get a chill up your spine, but you’ll likely also be laughing as you do.
It’s an entertainingly witchy tale for sure, with its spooky quests, incantations, and arcane trappings mixed with modern references. How about a cell phone, aka a summoning device, with a ringtone playing “Time Warp”? But beyond the sorcery lies something much more earthly: a morality play on sibling bonds, with all their bickering, competitiveness, and ultimately, the acceptance of one another as imperfect but loving family.
Keeping it in the pocket by allowing only four guests at a time is a godsend. A larger audience would not only defeat the mathematics of the Seven Sisters story, but it would take away the intimacy with which the interactive experience weaves you under its spell. At just 35 minutes, it's a quality-over-quantity proposition, and you quickly understand both its sold-out status and why so many hopeful future guests are waiting for their chance to join in the mayhem.
Rumor has it that an extension to the short run might be in the stars, but only if they align just right. For now, though, you can add your name to the HAG waitlist for a chance to get in. See it when you can, this season or next, but see it. Your new Sisters will likely still be there. Good for you, but bad for Dillon.
by Thom Mills for Immersive Scene Los Angeles
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Meet near Vineland and Burbank
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Now thru October 28.
