No Exit

No Exit
The ultimate existential crisis by Jean-Paul Sartre as seen through a modern lens by writer/director Anthony Marinelli.

In No Exit, the torture is purely psychological instead of physical. The play highlights the ultimate existential crisis: three people creating their own Hell through self-deception (Estelle), betrayal (Garcin), and guilt (Inez). Like any existential crisis, the characters each question their existence in hell: each one asks “why am I here” in one way or another

The intention with this production is to highlight the torture the characters inflict on one another and to illustrate how “hell is other people.” It isn’t just about three people who could never spend eternity together, but about their inability to control how they are remembered and how they are forever to be “seen.” In Existentialism, we enter hell the minute we give up our freedom, as this is the main focus of the philosophy: the ability of the individual to create his own life and responsibility for their actions. When we give up that power (i.e., rely on how others see us), we are in what Sartre called “bad faith.”

The design for No Exit will be sparse and somewhat monochromatic, to convey a feeling of being in prison, or even a concentration camp. The idea is that once we pass into hell, our identities are stripped away. Since many of us identify ourselves by how we look, what we wear, or by our vocation, this stripping away can also be hell for us.

Also inherent in the No Exit script is an erotic charge and playfulness that I intend to explore. I do not want this production to feel “heavy” or “philosophical.” What’s cool about Existentialism is that it’s a philosophy that rejects all absolutes and talks of freedom, authenticity, and difficult choices. We can all relate to that.

And another thing we can unfortunately all relate to in recent days is living in isolation. Over the  past few months we have all been residing in another version of Hell and that immediate understanding makes No Exit even more relevant for today. It is for this reason I have chosen to view the play through a modern lens, being careful not to deviate from Sartre's original intention, but present it in a way that both illuminates its dark humor and visually reinforces the themes of emptiness and loss.