On the night of June 14th 2009, a friend and I went to watch a play in Vertigo theatre called "Evil Dead". The premise: a group of college students become trapped in a cottage in the woods where evil ensues; complete with song and dance numbers. As with any zombie musical, I was not certain what to expect. As I situated myself in the congested theatre, I thought rather superficially if this play would leave me feeling inspired. By inspired, I began to think of Jill Dolan's concept of the 'Utopian Performative', described as those “small but profound moments in which the performance calls the attention of the audience…and lifts everyone slightly above the present into a hopeful feeling of possibility"(Barry,92). Maybe this play will have an uplifting message of hope, redemption or perhaps resurrection? I'm still not certain if zombies can inspire feelings of hopefulness and possibility; cannibalism maybe. Dolan also believes that utopian performatives can only be achieved in a live environment, like a theatre production. Her concept of the utopian performative builds on Victor Turner's definition of "communitas: those moments in theater or ritual in which audiences or participants feel themselves to be a part of the whole in an organic, nearly spiritual way” (Barry, 247).
While these ideas are a bit hard for me to grasp, I decided to be open-minded. Maybe a collective cathartic moment is possible. As the room descended into a chilling darkness a sweltering burst of applause escaped into the room. The actors had yet to take to the stage. Clearly the crowd was excited, their enthusiasm was practically bleeding from the walls.
As the play began it became a visual feast. From the absurd cottage full of singing animatronic objects of singing beavers to a dancing moosehead, it was amazingly camp. As I recall the audience, there seemed to be a consistent level of energy throughout the evening.
As the play progressed, the visuals became more intensely surreal and the audiences reaction met this intensity. For instance, at the climax of the play, the lead character takes out his gun and the audience collectively chanted "Boomstick!" I was a bit surprised by this, and sure enough, the zombie bloodbath began. Blood came streaming from the ceiling straight into the audience and the zombies began their robots of the damned routine straight into the ecstatic crowd.
Was the cathartic moment I had been anticipating been harnessed into what appeared to be a zombie orgy? Sorta. I almost feel as if I can say for certain that the audiences reaction on the whole was one of absolute hysteria. The blood, the guts, the brains, could the excitement created by such things ever be translated into 'real life'? I would have to say no. While the audience was definitely uplifted in a way that only a theatre setting may allow, and even though the actors strongly encouraged the audience to donate blood, I don't think this falls under the utopian performative category. Despite this, it was a great feeling to be enclosed in a space with a group of people who all appreciated the sheer brilliance of a tap dancing zombie. Overall, I had a hell of a good time.
Source: Barry, Peter “Beginning Theory: An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory” Second Edition, Peter Barry and Helen Carr. Manchester University Press: New York: 2002. 92, 247.
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