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The resulting thrilleris certainly about the supernatural, but its also deliberatelythin, in the sense of slight.
Its a play built to seem insubstantial.
nothing to worry about!
Hilda (Emily Cass McDonnell) comes in with a cup of tea to chat with us.
She tells us, laughing reluctantly, that shes been seeing her grandmother everywhere.
First, there was her grandmother.
The damage, though, was done.
A door had opened up in Hildas brain.
Another woman walks in and sits down.
This is Linda (Randy Danson), a medium.
And maybe, while shes at it, Linda could contact her missing, possibly dead, mother?
Its hypnotic: We all feel ourselves fall under her spell.
With the connection to the other world established, something more physical manifests between the women.
But once Hildas on the inside, Linda starts talking about how her gift actually works.
Its just structured guessing, she tells her new girlfriend.
She shouldnt be so gullible.
Only fools are confident, and Hnath doesnt write about fools.
So, what happens when what youre questioning is the nature of reality?
Or the nature of your own supernatural gift?
At this point, Hnath has us severalInception-levels down.
People vanish into sudden blackouts, and the night takes a darker, nearly evil turn.
As in the best horror, awful things are hinted at but left unspoken.
Phones ring that shouldnt ring; shapes move in the shadows that we never see.
How would I know?
And now imagine Hilda giving one of her wry little laughs.
The Thin Placeis at Playwrights Horizons.
