Introspection is a very impressive debut by the new company Introspect Theatre. Set in a room “untethered from time and location, with a single door as the only way forward”, it is strongly reminiscent of Jean-Paul Satre’s No Exit. However in this piece, rather than hell being other people, hell is the individual’s inner demons.  

The five (unnamed) characters constantly bicker and reconcile as they each try to find the courage to leave their sheltered cocoon and face whatever exists on the other side of the white door. The uncredited set – black walls covered in Cocteau/ Picasso-esque faces (also echoed in the simple yet effective make up) – is highly evocative of the claustrophobic feelings of constant judgement and scrutiny that these characters are dealing with.

The acting is uniformly very strong, with each performer ably and clearly establishing their character within the first few minutes. We learn very quickly how each of them deals with their confinement and their accompanying personality traits and tics. There is the bully, the timid, the unifier, the optimist, the overachiever. The interplay between these character types is competently handled, if at times a little simplistic.

Liv Woodmass (also the writer) and Ngarongonui Mareikura-Ellery in particular are very gifted young actors, holding the stage with absolute confidence and presence. Mareikura-Ellery has ability and talent well beyond her years, displaying a range of emotions and states that captivate and impress and with an ease and poise that suggests a bright future in the performing arts.

There a few – not nearly enough – short simple movement sequences that punctuate and accentuate the text but sadly they are under-utilised, as they would have added more depth to the script. The play avoids articulating what is on the other side of the door but rather chooses to focus on the characters and their internal worlds. As a result, it doesn’t quite achieve its full potential, becoming bound by under-developed psychological observations and slightly clichéd dialogue.

One of the problems is that introspection itself is, by its very nature, antithetical to the notion of theatre. The piece also suffers slightly from a meandering narrative and flabby dramatic structure which means that it starts to run out of steam towards the end. However, the strength of the actors’ commitment more than makes up for these concerns and holds the audience’s attention right to the end.

Reading the production and program notes to the piece would seem to suggest that you are in for a night of harrowing, confronting issue-based theatre. This is not the case at all, although I do think the creators are slightly over-estimating the depths that this piece goes to. For all its exploration of serious themes it has a number of moments of lightness, comedy and beauty.

I think we can all relate in some way to the dilemma the characters find themselves in: being unable or unwilling to make the decision to move on from a debilitating/ frightening/ unsatisfying situation, to step through the door without knowing what is on the other side.

Cleverly the play does not provide a simplistic resolution to this feeling of uncertainty. Rather it leaves it up to the characters (and us) to step through the door through their own volition and make of the future what they will. And the future for these performers and company is very promising indeed. 

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