There’s a phrase that you’ll have likely heard if you’ve taken any English or Communications courses: “The medium is the message.”
The notion was expressed by Marshall McLuhan, a Canadian media commentator, attempting to express the importance of the packaging/setting/staging as a vehicle for any piece of (for lack of a better word) content. McLuhan attributes more to the medium of a thing than I would — but I agree with his core concrete that presentation is power.
I thought of this a lot while watching Squeamish, the very first production of the new, Des Moines-based troupe known as the About Time Theatre Company.
The company’s debut production comes from playwright Aaron Mark which opened off-Broadway at the Beckett Theater in 2017. The show, a monologue, opens with a psychiatrist who has manically intruded on the abode of her medical doctor in the night.
Des Moines residents can find the show at The Haunt speakeasy (500 Locust St) for its final weekend of performances: June 6 and 7, 6:30 p.m. Squeamish is deftly performed by Kim Haymes, who central Iowa theatergoers might recognize from her Cloris-winning performance in Tallgrass Theatre Company’s Equus last year, or Iowa Stage Theatre’s The Cake back in 2022.
Within the first five minutes of the monologue, I believe most will be able to guess the broad strokes of what the protagonist is experiencing. Because of that, I hesitate to say more about the show itself as the journey is far more fascinating that the beats that bookend it.
The show takes apart its main character, exploring what she is repulsed by, what she is drawn to and where the two intermingle.
Needless to say, however, it’s not a show for the squeamish.
I would not call myself a person of particularly sturdy constitution, but it’s been some time since I was overwhelmed by a theater performance. And this over-stimulation came not from any visuals, just the gruesome details as described by Haymes in character.
I needed to step out for a moment as the 80-minute show entered its final 15 minutes. I was the only one in my crowd to do so (and the section of the show managed to hit some very specific bit of imagery that tend to make me light headed) so I don’t imagine my issue will be one most who are intrigued by the show need to worry about.
Furthermore, it is a credit to the honesty and power of Haymes that she managed to conjure a performance that grounds a bloody reveal with only her words.
It is additionally a credit to About Time as a whole for picking such a fitting place for the play they chose to package: A haunted speakeasy located down a dark stairwell at the end of a dimly lit hall, on a small stage with an intimate theater.
The medium is the message and About Time does a bloody good job showing that whatever dark sinister things we may be surrounded by, frights often come from the shadowy spaces in our own souls, or the souls of those we join in intimate spaces.
Isaac Hamlet has, at various points, been an arts & entertainment reporter and editor based in Iowa City and Des Moines. He also writes fantasy books under the pseudonym R.E. Bellesmith.
