The Encounter

by Theatre Complicite, Simon McBurney

Inspired by the book Amazon Beaming by Petru Popescu, this play traces a journey into the depths of the Amazon rainforest, incorporating innovative technology into a solo performance. In 1969, a National Geographic photographer found himself lost among the people of the remote Javari Valley in Brazil. It was an encounter that was to change his life, bringing the limits of human consciousness into startling focus.

Genres: Plays

96 pages, Paperback

Published September 27, 2016

Reviews

[Doug]

Update 5/15/20: The filmed version of the show is currently playing on YouTube for free for a week here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAl9m.... And though I can now see what all the excitement was about initially, the show could till use some judicious cutting. The sound design is exquisite though, and deserved all the huzzahs it received.

3.5 Having now read the script, I am semi-sorry I missed the production when it was here in SF last week. My rating is based solely (obviously!) on a reading of the script, while at least 50% of the play in production relies on some high tech audio - which, though described well in the text, is not QUITE the same as experiencing it first-hand. The story itself deals in some rather familiar tropes of the 'white man' encountering the 'primitive' indigenous people of the Brazilian Amazon, and while mildly interesting, doesn't really add anything new or startling to the discussion.

[Elly Roberts]

Phenomenal performance