The Wilderness of Demons is an interesting example of experimental theater. The dance, sound and lighting are all enticing and draw an audience in. In fact, the lighting is the most sophisticated that I have ever seen at ATA and very effective. What is not as impressive is Nigro’s script.

I was worried that I was using Western standards to judge a Ukrainian fairytale, but a little research seems to indicate that Ukrainian myths seem even more hero centric than Western tales. Nigro seems to want to reject stereotypes and tropes which might be admirable, but there is a reason they are used. When in a work the audience immediately knows what the author means with little explanation and that makes a piece more relatable and better viewing.

In the Wilderness of Demons opens with a young woman knocking at the “witch’s” door late at night during the winter in a freezing rain. Why would the villagers willing send the young woman to a witch’s house? Why do we learn nothing about this obliviously damaged individual and what brought her to this place? Instead, we learn about the history of the witch in a rather feeble attempt to make her empathetic. If the witch was male the audience would be skewering him, with his obvious power, for seducing a vulnerable individual with strong submissive tendencies. Wilderness is essentially viewing a date rape with all the pretty trimmings.

If Nigro is trying to show how easy seduction (both of a victim and an audience) is, then Wilderness is successful. If it is meant to be a cautionary tale, as most fairy tales are, then the effort falls far short.