Psychic- High and low on stage

With a mix of surreal elements, graphic shocks and unexpected humor, Psychic asks questions about societal pressures and our own identity, but does it really hit the mark?

What happens when a completely ordinary guy is taken to space by extraterrestrial beings, and falls for one of them? According to the website of the Norwegian Theatre, this is the premise of Psychic , a performance that, based on the descriptions, promises an original mix of sci-fi, surreal elements and emotional conflicts, a combination that immediately arouses curiosity. The title, which may refer to one of the main characters, sets the tone for an experience that is both mysterious and unpredictable. It provides a framework that promises both wonder and confusion. There is no doubt that a lot of creativity has been put into the production, with a number of visual and dramatic moves that seek to create a unique atmosphere. It seems that they have tried to build a universe that is both confusing and engaging. The performance is undoubtedly unusual compared to what you usually see and expect in the theater, and several of the visual and dramatic moves work well. Some of the ideas are interesting, and certain moments exude a strange beauty. But despite these flashes of originality, it's also clear that Psychic takes a different approach than one might expect. Yet it doesn't quite manage to find the balance between the fantastic and the understandable, and after watching it, I'm left with the feeling that it's at times more ambitious than successful. 

Action 

The play begins with us in the home of the main character Taume (Taume P. Dery). He is sitting at the living room table and looking down at the tabletop while his mother, Bridget (Bridget Dery), scolds him. She thinks he does too little in his free time, and thinks he should get out and get a job, friends and a girlfriend, so that she can soon have grandchildren. What makes the play a little more interesting is that both Taume and his mother, Bridget, are playing themselves. We see that Taume is obviously upset, and he tries to explain that he is not feeling well and that he is unable to achieve anything. At the same time as this situation unfolds, we can also see various types of extraterrestrial beings sitting offstage and watching them. Then Taume's mother leaves the stage. 

Then comes an intense scene that consists of Taume being lifted into the air, while loud music is playing and lots of lights are flashing. Taume, clearly scared, jumps with his legs and waves his arms while shouting. This acts as a transition from his house to another universe where the aliens rule. When he arrives in the new universe, he doesn't understand anything. But eventually he is subjected to several different tests by three alien clans. First it was the Auge Clan 's test, they checked if he could read other people's thoughts or control the voice inside someone's head. Then we were also introduced to one of the most important characters, namely Psychic (Claudia Cox) who was a member of this clan. Since Taume couldn't do any of the aforementioned things, he didn't pass the test. This was followed by loud screaming, cheering and stomping from the other aliens who were observing from the outside. 

The second test was conducted by the Strength Clan. This test involved Taume repeating the same movements and screams of Quak (Malik Edo), one of the members of the Strength Clan. The movements consisted mostly of stomping and screaming, and from what I understood, these movements were supposed to create earthquakes. Since there was no earthquake when Taume did it, he also failed this test. Like the first test, this result was also followed by loud screaming, cheering, and stomping from the other aliens observing from outside. 

The third and supposedly final test was carried out by the Hjarte Clan. Here I didn't really understand what they were doing, or what was being tested. Mostly they were running around, jumping on top of each other and doing some somewhat experimental dance moves that involved a lot of physical close contact. But somehow Taume still managed to fail this test too. After this, it seems like the testing is over, since they start cheering and concluding that he doesn't belong to one of the clans. And then they wonder if he can show them some of his qualities. Then he suddenly ends up doing a somewhat dry stand-up show, while the aliens move around in the audience. Then he makes jokes that are mostly puns on his name, for example he mentioned that he didn't understand how his ex-girlfriend always said his name wrong, since he was always called "Traume". After every thing he says, even if it's not meant to be funny, the aliens burst into really exaggerated and loud laughter, which they do to force a human reaction out of Taume. Finally, he breaks down, and suddenly he realizes that there's an entire audience watching him, and he escapes. 

Then they spend 10-15 minutes of the performance just watching a video of Taume walking around the halls of the theater. At the same time, the aliens sit in various places in the hall, babbling under their breath about things that are irrelevant to this context. 

Suddenly we are back in space, where there is a very rough sex scene. At first it was between Taume and Psychic, before it developed into more people from each clan joining in. And suddenly there was a big "gangbang", where all the clans and another random guy were involved. One of the visual devices used during this scene was that everyone brought water bottles, which were filled with water and white paint, which I think was supposed to represent semen. This only made the whole thing even more uncomfortable to watch, and was in my opinion completely unnecessary. 

Fortunately, the show was coming to an end here. We saw that after the sex scenes, Taume was sent back to Earth, and he woke up in the exact same place he was sitting at the start of the show. This makes you wonder, was it just a dream or was it reality? And the whole show ends with the mother continuing the conversation she had at the start, and her final line was "Are you okay?".

Technical challenges 

One of the biggest challenges with Psychic was the extremely poor sound quality, which made it difficult to follow what was actually being said. The microphones were set too low, and the actors often spoke indistinctly, mumbled, and in many cases it was almost impossible to understand what they were trying to convey. This became extra frustrating because the dialogue felt essential to understanding both the story and the characters. Several times I had to really strain to understand what was being said. The only one who stood out in this context was the character Psychic, played by Claudia Cox. Her voice was much clearer, and it was significantly easier to hear what she was saying, which was in sharp contrast to the other actors. In addition, Taume's mosquito lost its sound when it ran out of power about halfway through the performance. Maybe it would be a good idea to check the battery on all the mosquitoes before the performance? 

The experience was not made any easier by the constant loud background noise, which was present throughout the performance, except during the dialogue. The sound effects and background music were extremely loud, and although this was possibly intended to create an intense atmosphere, it became difficult to understand what was actually happening on stage. The backing track, a loud humming sound to evoke the feeling of space, became simply tiring after a while. The contrast between the faint, often indistinct dialogue and the powerful sounds was so great that you almost jumped every time the sound changed. Although this was perhaps intended to evoke a chaotic atmosphere, the result was more confusing than artistically challenging, and the dialogue almost disappeared completely in the constant noise. 

Another technical challenge I noticed during the play was the lack of control over the side scenes. Several times it became clear that the intention was to show the actions taking place in these areas. Like when the aliens observed the events on stage, or when another member of the Auge Clan climbed up and down a ladder, controlling how high Taume was lifted during the abduction. When choosing to use such a move, however, one must be careful about what one exposes to the audience. Several times we were given insight into details such as the actors' shifts, handling of props, water breaks and other things that belonged backstage. Such insights break with the illusion the play is trying to create and ruin the overall impression. Another example was when Taume's mother sat behind the piano and ate, relaxed and took breaks between the scenes she was in. It is possible to question whether it was actually the intention for us to be able to see this as well, but personally I doubt it. I rather felt that they were trying to keep it a secret, but that they were not fully successful. The play was performed at Det Norske Teatret, so it is strange that it did not work better in these areas. It seemed as if most of it was made and run by the actors themselves. If they had had fewer limitations, for example a larger stage with curtains on the side stages and more professional help, it might have gone better. Nevertheless, such insights felt unprofessional, and repeatedly disrupted my experience throughout the performance. This weakened both the impression of professionalism and the quality of the cast's performances. 

Possible symbolism 

In plays, there is often a lot of symbolism and hidden social criticism. And Psychic is no exception. During the performance, I began to notice several things that made me think about whether this was perhaps intended as a criticism of our society. For example, I think that there might be symbolism in the fact that the aliens were always outside, observing. I began to think that it could be a metaphor for how we in today's society often feel monitored, as if we are always being seen and evaluated, whether it is on the internet or in everyday life. This constant feeling of being evaluated can make us feel that we can never be completely free, and that we always have to live up to the expectations of others. It can have a big impact on how we see ourselves, and how we feel psychologically. And this is exactly what I think Psychic is trying to criticize.

Another example of symbolism is in one of the scenes I described earlier, where Taume ends up doing a stand-up show. Every time he says something, even though he's not trying to be funny, the aliens respond with extremely exaggerated and loud laughter. Their laughter is not genuine, but an attempt to provoke a human reaction in Taume, a reaction that they want to pull out and manipulate, as if they're trying to force some kind of emotional response from him. 

I think there is some symbolism in this. Without being fully aware of it, Taume becomes a kind of object for the expectations and reactions of others. He is pressured to conform, or to participate in a game he never chose to be in. The laughter becomes a symbol of the social pressure he cannot avoid, where he is forced to relate to a reality that does not necessarily feel like his own. 

But the effect ultimately becomes more tiring than meaningful. What could have been a sharp commentary on Taume's inner conflict or his attempt to find his own voice in the face of pressure from the outside world loses its power in its repetition. 

My opinion

After seeing Psychic , I have to say that it was a performance that really didn't suit my taste. The performance attempted to challenge both the audience and conventional theatrical forms, by breaking with the traditional narrative structure, dissolving the distinction between stage and audience, and deliberately testing the audience's boundaries of what is perceived as comfortable, understandable, and acceptable. But for me, it ended up being more disturbing than thought-provoking. 

 The performance felt more like an attempt to provoke than to build a meaningful narrative. I was left with the feeling that the play tried to be boundless and unpredictable, but ended up being overwhelming and unbalanced. 

One of the most uncomfortable parts of the play was the sex scene, which was both graphic and direct. I think the intention was to use humor with the splashes of white water to symbolize semen, but for me it just became gross and uncomfortable. What made it particularly disturbing was when it evolved from something between two people to the big “gangbang”. Then it lost any comedic effect and just became too much. Due to the content of this scene, I completely agree that the age limit of 15 should not be lower. 

Another thing that really bothered me was the constant screaming. There were so many loud noises, screaming and stomping, and it became very tiring to follow. There was so much that if I had to give a really short description of the action, I would have described it as: screaming, dialogue, screaming, stomping, screaming, stomping. It felt like the play was largely driven by noise rather than thoughtful action, and this ruined a lot of the experience for me. I think it could have been much more effective if there was more balance between silence, intensity and quieter moments. 

Another choice that was very strange was when they spent 10-15 minutes of the performance showing a video of Taume walking around the halls. Not only does this break with the universe that has been created, but it also interferes with the ability to immerse yourself in the story and gain a better understanding of the play. In addition, it was confusing that almost all the actors wandered around the audience, sat down and chatted non-stop about topics that had no relevance to the plot. This ruined the experience and made it difficult to stay focused on the rest of the performance. 

One moment that actually stands out as positive was after the stand-up scene, where Taume suddenly includes the audience in a slightly unexpected way. When he screams, “Why are you looking at me?” and then reacts with frustration, he creates a powerful moment. It’s as if he has some kind of epiphany. That he suddenly realizes that we are there, that we are looking at him, and that he is not just in his own world on stage. 

This little outburst has great symbolism, as it breaks the fourth wall and gives us as the audience a sense of being part of the show in a completely different way. The moment felt genuine and made me reflect on how we as the audience are part of the theatrical experience. It was a powerful way to make us think about our role, and one of the few moments where the play really hit something important.

Conclusion

I honestly can't say that I particularly enjoyed Psychic, but there are some aspects of the show that still deserve praise. If you ignore what I mentioned earlier, the lighting, set design and sound effects played an important role in creating a visual and auditory world. These elements helped to build the atmosphere and make it easier to enter the universe of the show. They used a lot of autotune, appropriate sound effects and a kind of floating background music, which went very well with the otherworldly world we were about to enter. I also liked that there were some funny moments and quick lines that gave me a little smile every now and then, and helped to lighten the mood in an otherwise quite heavy and intense production. 

Overall, Psychic was a show that didn't resonate with me. It was too experimental, too full of disturbing elements, and spent far too much time on distractions that took attention away from the stage experience. For those seeking more shocking and experimental theater, this might be to their liking, but for me it was more of a frustrating and unpleasant experience.