It would be misleading to characterize, as the official description does, the play Existential People as “loosely adapted” from Jean Paul Sartre’s No Exit. Now playing at DC’s Capital Fringe Festival, there is nothing loose about Forrest Callaway’s adaptation of Sartre’s famous 1944 existentialist work.
Existential People follows the same plot: Three people arrive in the afterlife to find that hell is simply being locked in a room together. It includes the same key moments, and the characters’ backstories are all kept as intact as possible. Perhaps most importantly, it speaks to many of the same themes as No Exit.
The key difference in Callaway’s adaptation, which he also directs, is that the three main characters are now all gay men. Presumably, this change is meant to complement the themes in No Exit, building on them to speak to the specific experiences of men in the gay community.
That would explain why all three characters spend the vast majority of the play fully nude. The decision emphasizes the way in which they all objectify each other, and objectify themselves in relation to one another, something that gay men are often acutely aware of. The new thematic context is only partially developed, however, which makes it stand in stark contrast to the themes from No Exit, which carry over to Existential People essentially intact.
To be sure, in a well-executed adaptation, a lack of thematic novelty can often be forgiven. Unfortunately, Existential People is not particularly well-executed. The actors clearly struggle with the stubby dialogue, made up of an odd mixture of philosophical declarations and recycled punchlines that more often fall flat rather than lighten the show’s dark tone. At best, the mixture makes for an inconsistent performance. At worst, and more often, Existential People is simply unstimulating.
Running Time: 65 minutes
Genre: Drama
Dates and Times:
- July 19 at 8:20 PM
- July 20 at 3:05 PM
- July 21 at 6:00 PM
Venue: Delirium, 1120 Connecticut Avenue NW, Suite 103
Tickets: $15
More Info and Tickets: Existential People
The complete 2024 Capital Fringe Festival schedule is online here.