Chicago’s neoCommedia collective, The Conspirators, has rolled out a high intensity dark comedy purporting to be a 125th Anniversary Jubilee, The InEptidemic. It is absolutely perfect for a month when it gets dark by 5pm.
Neo-commedia is a highly stylized form of theatre that draws from traditional Commedia dell’Arte, cartoons and a punk rock sensibility. “The Style” rejects realism: nothing is serious and yet everything is true. It is highly visual and has repetitive themes and character types that reappear. There is a physicality and an inherent violence in the performance. There is white face and penciled in features, overdone props and wigs and a formal presentational style accompanied by percussion. In the magical storefront OtherWorld Theatre the energy can be intense, the satire biting. This edition of the Conspirators ongoing social commentary features Jacqes Barzun’s translation of Octave Mirbeau’s 1898 farce L'Épidémie and an adaptation of the Monty Python bit The Four Yorkshiremen. These brave souls, directed by Wm. Bullion and his assistant Madison Boan, supported by writer and style coach Sid Felman, take on big topics! Shout out to Libby Beyreis, fight choreographer in a tiny space.
Paul Bunton’s elegant MC steadies us for this ride into Hades. The journey takes us through some of the Conspirator’s past shows and brings back the former president which caused a bit of PTSD in this reviewer. This is not a show for the faint of heart, but you will laugh heartily.
Despite its historical roots or maybe because of them, this is a must see show for right now- if only because you can repair to the bar and share the misery of our current moment with your fellow audience members. When the world is going to hell in a handbasket, you need the Conspirators to light your darkness, or at least make you feel less alone.
The InEptidemic is only playing Thursdays through Sundays until November 19th at the OtherWorld Theatre at 3914 N Clark in Chicago’s Lakeview Neighborhood, so book your seats now at https://events.humanitix.com/the-conspirators-125th-anniversary-jubilee-feat-the-ineptidemic
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