Plasticity: New Play Presents Playful Look at the Hard Problem of Consciousness

On Saturday, February 1st, a new play written by Alex Lyras and Robert McCaskill, dazzled and delighted audiences at Greenwich House Theater. Plasticity guides the viewer on a psychedelic experience, simultaneously scary and spiritual tour of the boundaries of the human consciousness.

Plasticity at Greenwich House Theater

Plasticity follows the tragic yet hopeful story of recovery from a coma. The identity of the protagonist, a male comatose thrill-seeker, is reconstructed by diving and rifling through his memories and through the perspective of his family members circled around his hospital bed, his fate laying in their hands. Plasticity doesn’t settle with exploring the consciousness of the comatose alone but also the conscious unconscious of the surrounding family members and medical team, who all have life-changing decisions to make. It raises urgent questions: Does science always have the answers? Does faith trump probability? How does the brain heal?

Alex Lyras in action. Photo: Jessica Sherman Photography

Plasticity as a play is a triumph in multi-media theater. Trippy, colorful, trance-inducing projections dance behind Lyras, as a sheet of ghostly images float between him and the audience, perhaps a reference to the layers of consciousness our minds hide behind. What makes this feat even more impressive is Lyras performance as a one-man show. Lyras’ versatility is striking, as he transitions between comatose man, to neuroscientist, to twin brother to psychiatrist. This continuity of character speaks to a notion of collective unconsciousness while also nodding to the ineffable idea that we can only know our own minds and even then, that too is often called into question.

Photo: Jessica Sherman Photography

Perhaps we don’t need to be braindead to lose control of our minds. Are we already unplugged or switched off? This existential thread runs delicately through the play, culminating in a conclusion that is just as complex and confusing as where we started. Which was where exactly? I invite you to lose yourself in Plasticity, to unravel your mind and spiral into unconsciousness. Showing until February 17 2020.