Review: The illusionary Games of Edward Rye by Filigree Theatre
by David Glen Robinson

The Illusionary Games of Edward Rye, a world premiere authored by Ashley Griffin offers a brainy riff on illusionism, mesmerism, mentalism, magic, agnosticism, faith, free will, determinism, card tricks, math tricks, therapy, trust, ethics, and plush toy tigers. That's a lot to chew on. It's clear that Griffin researched these topics. The lead character is Edward Rye, played by Malcolm Stephenson, not a neurosurgeon or alien abduction hypno-researcher, but a slightly down-at-heel stage illusionist.  Rye's faith in humanity has eroded ever so slightly with each performance. His personality is etched and furrowed like a granite sculpture after 35,000 years of steady rains..

 

Edward Rye, late in his career, begins with an audience participation exercise using a picture board and a plush toy tiger. This magic trick and most of the others, especially the demonstrations of various hypnotherapy techniques, are familiar routines in such stagecraft and “work” therapeutic devices do IRL. This showcase is perhaps the greatest strength of the play.

 

Rye meets Claire, an ardent fan, in a bar near a theatre. The two debate in an over-long dialogue, one that's more telling than showing and left one longing for more scenes with that little tiger. Another long dialogue scene followed that one. Rye and his assistant of many years, Freddy (Michael Morse) debate all the way up the spiritual scale to God, faith, and agnosticism. The upshot is that Rye decides to return to Claire to demonstrate his convictions concerning  free will, trust, hypnosis, and the power of the mind. This he does, then signs her to a contract. Along the way, we get to see a plush toy rabbit.

The play is a psychological thriller with action-adventure overtones, but it lacks any series of clues or even red herrings. A major clue and a minor one came late in the play after the violent climax. Don’t give me clues in the denouement when the jig is up and it's  too late to try to solve the story problem for myself. Themes of deception and false illusion lie at the core of the play, so the audience was primed for evidence of potential outcomes. If thosre clues and subthemes had been laid out earlier, The Illusionary Games of Edward Rye would have been a toney, tasty whodunit, but no. When a crucial plot twist came, it struck the audience as a contrivance, without any foreshadowing. Brief phrases that may have been used in the wordy dialogue scenes do not count.

 

 

This is a good play for psychologists. However, for this reviewer, a lay hypnotic subject who has experienced something of the art from the inside, comes an informed critique: Rye touched his hypnotized subject too much, which would disturb the mesmeric state. Holding the hand to lead the subject to standing and walking must be preceded by careful announcement, some of which Rye performed well, but other touches are no-nos. And a post-hypnotic state of suggestibility must be reinforced several times before a big stage demonstration. Considerations of performance time may have made that impossible. Understood.

 

The play also suffered from a certain cruelty in the treatment of character. Saying more would be a massive giveaway. Circumlocution is necessarily cryptic, but some things must be said. Here they are: two characters are close. One betrays the other, merely to make a rhetorical point! The betrayal goes awry and results in devastation. Yet there is no moral, ethical, or legal resolution of the human failure. Should there have been? I leave it to the readers and viewers to decide.

 

Filigree Theatre Artistic director Elizabeth V. Newman directs the action in her sterling and efficient fashion. The lead female actor is Ashley Griffin (yes, the playwright). Malcolm Stephenson plays Edward Rye. Michael Morse plays Freddy, and Derek Byzinski plays Tim. The spectacular, varied and interactive set is by Patrick Anthony, who is also responsible for the lighting design. Anthony magically makes the Quonset hut theater look twice as large on the inside as on the outside. He does that play after play; Anthony's sets and lighting are themselves worth the price of admission.

 

The Illusionary Games of Edward Rye by Ashley Griffin runs from April 25 to May 4, 2025, at Factory on Fifth, 3409 E. Fifth Street, Austin, Texas.

 

 

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The illusionary Games of Edward Rye
by Ashley Griffith
Filigree Theatre

April 18th - May 4th, 2025

Thursdays - Sundays 8 pm

Sundays 3 pm

(Please Note: no performances Sunday April 20th)

@Factory on 5th