Incognito

Incognito

Manhattan Theatre Club

New York City Center Stage I

May 8, 2016

Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

How does the brain’s ability to store and retrieve long term memory affect relationships?  Without memory, does a person have an identity?  Can post-mortem study of the brain unlock patterns of thought and scope of intelligence?  These are a few of the questions brought to the surface in Nick Payne’s play, Incognito, presently in previews at Manhattan Theatre Club.  It is an engaging and captivating compilation of fact and fiction that delves into the mysteries and science of memory and brain function.

Geneva Carr, Morgan Spector, Heather Lind, & Charlie Cox
Photo courtesy of Manhattan Theatre Club

Four actors play twenty roles during the course of the play.  Some characters are developed from true stories and actual events.  Henry Maison (played by Charlie Cox) undergoes a procedure that destroys the portion of his brain associated with memory.  This leaves him with a long term memory span of about three minutes.  After the death of Albert Einstein, Dr. Thomas Harvey (played by Morgan Spector) removes his brain during the autopsy and keeps it, without consent, for research.  When psychologist Brenda Walsh (played by Geneva Carr) begins dating Patricia Thorn (played by Heather Lind), she leaves out facts about her past that are essential in building trust and comradery.  These three story lines, among others, run parallel and sometimes overlap, to dramatize the correlation between the brain’s ability to successfully store and retrieve information and the development of personality, intelligence, and relationship.

Playwright Nick Payne
Photo courtesy of
Manhattan Theatre Club

Each actor transforms in seconds from one character to the next with detailed command of gesture, posture, and vocal intonation, thus creating complete, realistic characters.  The audience instantaneously recognizes which character is being portrayed, and effortlessly connects the previous action of the simultaneous plot lines.  Director Doug Hughes keeps the action flowing continuously, stimulating the audience to stay focused on each moment.  It is this fluidity that makes the retention of the particulars of each individual plot line uncomplicated.  While layered with scientific fact and psychological theory, Mr. Payne’s script is remarkably poetic.  The final moment of the play is awe-inspiring.  It celebrates the mystery and magnitude in the power of the brain to connect bites of information with deep, emotional meaning.

The Manhattan Theatre Club production of Incognito opens on May 24 at New York City Center Stage I.  Don’t miss it!  It will amplify your understanding of how memory connects with identity.  It will broaden your appreciation of the science that explains our every moment.

Domenick Danza