Theatre is dormant for the foreseeable future. Halloween is relegated to drive-through experiences and yard displays. While it might seem more than just a little discouraging, the core creative minds at Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre have attempted to create a very Zombie Joe’s experience while at the same time taking into consideration the guest’s safety during the age of COVID-19. Tortured Souls is the latest theatrical production from the celebrated theatre company. It is a surprisingly linear (by ZJU standards) tale of love, death, and obsession. Directed by Zombie Joe and long-time collaborator Elif Savas, guests are treated to that signature weirdness, just at a safe distance.
After arriving for at a specified reservation time, we approached the theatre. The deceptively bland façade along Lankershim Boulevard has a new feature. A temporary black, plastic corridor covered the entrance to the foyer of the theatre. Basking in the yellow glow of the nearby street lamp, Zombie himself greeted us, offered us a safety waiver to sign, and let us know that our show was about to begin. Zombie guided us to enter the hood at the front of the theatre and wait for our show to begin.
Standing at the doorway we could see an impressively intricate set before us. This is a treat since other ZJU production have limited sets on account of the small size of the black box theatre. Here though, we got to gaze upon a network of simply lit pipes and tubing that filled what was normally the lobby of the theatre. The impish Warren Hall crawls into the set and depicts a perfectly disturbing scene. Our narrator, Faydakin stealthily approaches at the entrance to the makeshift hallway we had just gone into. Faydakin, dressed head to toe in black, explains to us a tale of violence, lust, and tragedy.
We are then led by our host back out along Lankershim, and around to the back door of the theatre for the second half of the show. Again, peering through the back door we see the brilliant Savas performing another scene of violent love and rage. This for me was the highlight as her sheer energy and physicality was jaw-dropping. The last scene plays out before us and our narrator again guides us out into the open and offers the epilogue along with the parting gift of a book of matches featuring the Tortured Souls artwork.
This is theatre for the sake of theatre. With so very many North Hollywood venues shuddered for the foreseeable future and with no real way to cover their rent, this is a clever way for the beloved hell hole that is Zombie Joe’s Underground Theatre to stay alive. I will say that while the plot, the story, and even the dialogue were peripheral, this was about being out, seeing, and hearing live performance at one of the most important theatre companies in the country. Art will survive. It must. While we can only gawk and stare at it from a distance, while we may not pick up all of the specifics, the feeling, the tone, and the experience of seeing something is important. If for no other reason than to be entertained and to support.
Here’s to you Zombie, Savas, Hall, and Faydakin. Thank you for letting us at least put our finger on the pulse of the arts to remind us that they are still very alive and awfully important.
