Review: THE ANTIPODES at Shaking The Tree

Annie Baker's THE ANTIPODES at Shaking the Tree Theatre will leave you simultaneously exhilarated and contemplative as it takes you on a fast-paced ride that examines the meaning of that most fundamental human activity: storytelling. This is the fourth play by Baker that has appeared on Portland stages in recent years, and if you saw any of the previous ones (Pulitzer Prize winner The Flick, John, Infinite Life), be prepared for something wildly different. 

In THE ANTIPODES, a group of writers participate in an endless brainstorming session for an undefined creative endeavor (movie, TV series, podcast, comic book, video game, etc.), known only as “the project.” Under the leadership of Sandy (masterfully portrayed by Duffy Epstein), the writers embark on a quest to create the perfect story – one that must contain something monstrous (though not necessarily a monster), with the only rule being "no dwarves or elves or trolls."

They break the ice by telling personal stories (i.e., how they lost their virginity), and progress through cultural lore, origin stories, and outright fabrications. As a storm approaches and Sandy disappears, the writers' increasingly unmoored brainstorming becomes a metaphor for our human need to create order through narrative, as well as our desperation for someone or something to light the way.

Director Samantha Van Der Merwe orchestrates this complex piece with precision, brilliantly navigating the play's fluid relationship with time and reality. All of the actors – Josie Seid, Ken Yoshikawa, Sam Dinkowitz, Darius Pierce, Rocco Weyer, Jim Vadala, Samson Syharath, and Rebby Yuer Foster – are well suited to their roles, managing to create totally unique, fully fleshed out characters in what is essentially a non-stop cacophony of half-baked ideas. There is a lot of theatre magic in this show, and I don’t want to give too much away, but I applaud the cast for mastering the arts of sleight of hand and misdirection.

This isn't just a play about telling stories – it's about why we tell them, how they shape us, and what happens when they fail us. I loved it.

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