Off-Broadway Access Review -
Corruption
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General Note
This is a review of the accessibility of the theater, of the lighting/sound/scent design of the show, and a list of content warnings as a way to prep folks with various needs before they go see it.
This is not meant to scare anyone away from seeing the show. Most productions have about the same amount of content warnings and sensory warnings to go along with it, they’re just rarely explicitly written down.
For some people, knowing these things ahead of time makes it easier to enjoy the show because they know what to expect. And, often, makes those people more likely to see it in the first place. I hope that it’s helpful!
I am also happy to clarify any specifics, just send me a message or an email and I will respond when I can.
Theater
Lincoln Center Theater - Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater
All comments on the accessibility of lighting are in reference to seats on the middle right of the stage
Bathrooms:
no explicitly gender neutral options
located on the right of the entrance (right outside the stage) for men and straight ahead for women
Other theater accessibility:
to find the theater, go in the glass doors next to the NYPL in Lincoln Center, down the stairs to your right, and around the corner
the theater is wheelchair accessible via the elevator from the 65th Street street-level entrance
each row has steps down except the top row & the theater is a half circle
the theatre offers assistive listening headsets and is induction hearing loop equipped
Click here for more information on the physical accessibility of this theater.
Light/Sound/Scent
General:
the vast majority of scene changes start and end with a boom sound effect and quick light shift that is often startling. Those cues will not be noted here because I wrote down over 35 and there is no way anyone could actually remember them from this list to keep track of cue lines – you get accustomed to the rhythm of it fairly quickly
there is a star pattern of lines all across the stage floor that are LEDs that light up and sometimes move - their motion can be pulsing, moving in small segments, fading quickly between colors, or traveling from one end to the other. This also happens during the vast majority of scene changes and will not be noted here
above the stage is a circle of screens that either play videos of the news, what is happening onstage, or a “static” aesthetic. It’s fairly easy to keep them out of your sightline
when I entered the theater it smelled fairly strongly of artificial smoke, then dissipated, and then returned for a bit at one point
the actors make use of the aisles
Act I:
begins with loud static noise, lots of moving images on the screens and back wall, speeding up until it ends with a huge crash
“understand what you’re risking” - loud music and disco rainbow lights are spinning on the floor and back wall
after Rebecca exits (scene following the “God she’s good” line) - flashing white downlights (in addition to boom/floor/etc)
“go to war, I think” - downlight flashes (in addition to etc)
the David Cameron clip (on back wall and above stage tvs) has lots of camera flashes in it
glitching screen on the back wall (and etc) after the laptop is handed over
“take your slingshot, take your stone, and you let it fly” - on “fly” there is a white light that washes over the audience from bottom to top
loud music starts intermission and lasts a few minutes into intermission
Act II:
starts with loud news audio intro
“don’t fuck this up” - moving white downlight over audience and floor (and etc)
the scene after “to our shame” has white lights that slightly shine at the audience
“of collusion!” - moving on the back wall (and etc)
“don’t write anything down” - same as above
“swiftly!” - flashing white downlights (and etc)
“don’t say I didn’t warn you” - far back white lights flash, it is fairly subtle (and etc)
“and profit could be made” - ~5 seconds of bright white camera flashes
another ~3 sec after “in this nation” and then later in the scene there is another ~3 sec
Content Warnings
The show itself is about the 2011 phone-hacking scandal, talking a lot about anxiety around technology, hacking, stalking, outing, and blackmail.
Also includes:
mentions of suicide, pedophilia, murder, and SA
infertility
a derogatory term for gay men (poof) is used a few times