GEEK N OUT REVIEW

“Shelter”

Reviewer: Robert Southgate

Walking into Shelter felt like walking into a vault from the game Fallout. There are no windows, green glowing fluorescent bulbs, empty tin cans strewn about, a console with equipment on it, and a robot leaned against the wall. The room is very quiet and even though there are other audience members there you start to feel isolated. The play begins when Izzy, in her dark blue jumpsuit, enters and starts talking to the shelter’s AI, MOM. We learn from this interaction about the situation and why Izzy is here in this shelter. There’s tension due to the circumstances yet Izzy is playful and charismatic. She eventually turns her robot companion, iZak, on and the fun really starts. They host a radio show. It’s very much of a morning zoo rock-n-roll type radio show. They interact with MOM, they play games, the make jokes, and they play a lot of music. If you had to be in a shelter after some type of cataclysmic event, this would be a pretty descent time waster.

Shelter is set in an underground bunker after a catastrophic climate-change disaster. Captain Izzy Hicks broadcasts a rockin’ radio show in hopes of finding any survivors on the surface. Kept company only by MOM, the resident AI, and her trusty robot companion (and show co-host), iZak, Izzy tries desperately to stay fit in mind, body, and spirit, as her resources slowly run out, and the reality of being truly alone begins to set in…

I don’t want to give anything more away. Shelter is something you need to experience with little beforehand knowledge of. It’s tragic, and funny, and touching, and tense all at once. Shelter is the type of theater I love. It accomplished what science fiction strives to do (unless it’s a Transformers movie.) It made me feel to the point of being triggering, yet it felt important that I watch. Shelter is very much like a classic Twilight Zone episode. As depressing as it is to be trapped in this shelter, I didn’t want to leave when it was over. I wanted to know what happened next. In fact, I don’t think I have left it fully as I have not stopped processing what I experienced with this production since seeing it five days ago.

I would also like to note the exceptional performance by Ariel Francoeur. Every actor in this show gave an excellent performance, yet the focus is on Ariel’s character, Izzy. Ariel plays it so believably and her acting is so fluid, as if this role was written to highlight her talents

Shelter deserves to be seen. It’s an exceptional production that is among the very best running currently in Chicago.

Shelter is a production of The Navigators, a Feminist Science Fiction Theater Company, in conjunction with Otherworld Theatre, Science Fiction and Fantasy Performance.

Cast & Crew
SHELTER is written by Navigators guest artist Jack Horton Gilbert and co-directed by company producing artistic director Ariel Francoeur and Natalie Lurowist

Cast: Ariel Francoeur as Izzy, Frank Rose as iZak, and Jean Marie Koon as MOM.

Set by Abbie Reed, lights by Alex Casillas and Matthew Carney, sound design by Sean DeMers, costumes by artistic director Bella Poynton and the company, technical direction by Manny Ortiz, and stage management by Greg Delany Walker.

Performances will take place in Otherworld’s black box stage, “The Alchemist’s Lab”, thru August 4th, 2019; Thursdays thru Saturdays at 7:30 pm, Sundays at 2:30pm. Tickets are pay what you can with a $15 suggested donation.

Otherworld Theatre is located at 3914 N Clark Street, Chicago, IL 60613 (Street Parking available; CTA Accessible by Sheridan Red Line / 22 Clark). Performances are approximately 100 minutes with intermission.

About Otherworld Theatre

Otherworld Theatre is a two-stage facility with a main stage that boasts a flexible performance and seating area in its larger The Bradbury space, The Alchemist’s Lab black box space, bar, and lobby located a few blocks north of Wrigley Field. Tickets to all shows are available at www.OtherworldTheatre.org Otherworld maintains mission to keep theatre accessible for all. All main stage tickets are pay-what-you-can, allowing people of any and all means to experience live performance. Otherworld targets theatre patrons of all ages, genders, and races, with a particular focus on fans of Science Fiction and Fantasy, or "genre" storytelling. This is a large, underserved market, particularly when it comes to live theatre. Otherworld’s productions reach a wide ranging audience and multiple fandoms.

About The Navigators
Founded in 2014, The Navigators’ mission is to produce Science Fiction Theater with a clear feminist perspective. They are dedicated to elevating female driven stories in a genre dominated by men. In their productions, they empower women and female identifying actors, producers, directors, and playwrights. The company seeks to engage new audiences, realize new and daring realities, and expand the boundaries of what theatre can achieve by fully exploring sci-fi on stage.

For more information about The Navigators, the show, and the production team and cast, visit www.navigatorstheater.com.