Using the kind of disorienting sound and lighting design you might encounter in a horror film, Second Thought Theatre takes a cinematic approach to the premiere of executive director Parker Davis Gray’s personally motivated Incarnate.
Coupled with emotionally calibrated performances by Kristen Lazarchick and Jeffrey Schmidt that jump between quiet and loud like a Pixies or Nirvana song, the highly structured production directed with a claustrophobic grip by Jenna Burnett is one of the most riveting shows of the North Texas theater season so far.
Even before the lights come up at the start of Incarnate — two tense hours with no intermission to break its spell — a faint soundscape hovers over the room. Flowing water, thunder, voices cackling or under stress can be heard in the distance.
From there, designers Claudia Jenkins Martinez, Aaron Johansen and Danielle Georgiou have a field day building anticipation with sharp shifts and sudden intrusions of disembodied light and sound.
Gray, a busy actor, only began writing plays after the accidental drowning of his father, James, in 2017. Incarnate is the first of his nine scripts — all in the same genre — to be produced.
In a rare stage appearance, Schmidt, artistic director of Theatre Three, portrays Peter, a man in the same boat as Gray. But rather than working out his grief on the page, he has turned himself into a monster, kidnapping Lazarchick’s Rosamund because he believes she’s the reincarnation of his father.
Seen last Monday, Incarnate is built around a series of blackouts between frequently short scenes. Time is kept by floor projections marking the number of days that Peter has held Rosamund in a cage well-appointed for her comfort. If successful, an elaborate plan 25 years in the making — and culminating with an ancient ritual — would allow Peter to communicate with his father again.
It’s a chilling premise that Incarnate grounds with a growing connection between the characters. They’re both artists, as was Peter’s father. He brings her canvases and paint, and encourages her to work. Later, he arrives with a jukebox filled with his father’s favorite songs. The bland music of mainstream bands like the Eagles never sounded so eerie.
Lazarchick is married to Gray, who wrote the role for her and has worked a lot with Schmidt’s troupe. The intimacy is palpable, with Incarnate a cautionary tale about the dangers of taking our most deeply felt wishes too far.
Details
Through Nov. 1 at Bryant Hall, 3400 Blackburn St. $32. secondthoughttheatre.com.
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