No Save Points: Sebastien Heins escapes to harsh reality
20 Jun 2023

by Drew Rowsome - Photos by Dahlia Katz

Sebastien Heins tells us that we are about to participate in "a series of live action games about me and my mom." This is after he has explained (for us non-gamers in the audience) that No Save Points refers to the act of pausing a game, saving one's accumulated points, so that one can "reload the moment before everything went out of control." We are not playing games, there is a powerful emotional throughline to what Heins is attempting. But we do play games, four of them, and aside from technological and initially reluctant audience participation, No Save Points becomes extremely interactive with a great deal of shouting of encouragement, moans of dismay, and exultations of triumph. It is remarkable how invested we become in the outcome of a game. Except of course, we are not just playing for points, we are playing for Heins.

Heins (The Tape Escape, Bang Bang, Mr Burns, Brotherhood: The Hip Hopera) is a magnetic and kinetic performer, taking us instantly into his confidence with nostalgic reminiscences about his old Gameboy console. He channels a game show host, minus the malevolent greed, in order to acquire four gamers to operate the console in the first game, and, even when flattened to two dimensions within the games, his humanity and charm radiate through the screen. That charisma is sorely tested by the initial glitches which slow down the action and leave him stalling for time while also trying to keep the momentum going. But there is never a second that we aren't pulling, not only for Heins the performer, but also for the production and ultimately for Heins the person. It is a Tetris of involvement that interlocks cleverly: the jerky Gameboy movements interlock with a plot point, the gamer volunteers controlling Heins's movements interlock with a major theme, the technology and the glitches interlock with yet another theme, animation softens/amplifies a devastating reveal. It is conceptually clever but seamless in execution, as seamless as the merger of play text with game challenges.

The press materials and advertising reveal that Heins's mother is dealing with Huntington's Disease and that is far as I will go with spoilers. The metaphor of gaming, and by extension theatre, as a way of avoiding confronting unpleasant reality is also stated clearly right at the beginning of the show. What isn't stated but is explicitly demonstrated is how No Save Points utilizes the the two art forms to cut to the heart of reality. And the reality of facing reality. And then involves us in a game so that we can attempt to avoid reality again despite our being aware of what we are doing. It is not only conceptually clever, it is meta-gaming. As previously stated, Heins is a very engaging character and the considerable set is at his service instead of overwhelming. Despite the scrims, animation and even Marvel-esque costuming, the human dilemma bleeds through to bathe the stage. The set's many surprises and transformations do elicit gasps and laughs, but it is spectacle on an intimately human scale. We are drawn in rather than awed, other than being awed by Heins's resilience and stamina. It is inspiring.

Mention should be made of the collaborators who made such an elaborate and visually extravagant production a reality. Outside the March (Lessons in Temperament, Stupidhead, The Flick, The Tape Escape, Dr Silver, Mr Burns) specializes in immersive productions, often set in non-theatrical settings, while Starvox Entertainment does big experiences like Disney Animation Immersive Experience, Immersive Frida Kahlo and Illusionarium as well as experiments like Touch where the vaulting space and technology of Lighthouse Arthouse can be utilized by artists in pursuit of the astounding intangibles. No Save Points is a powerful fusion of the two companies with the added assistance of Modern Times Stage Company (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The House of Bernarda Alba, Blood Weddings) and a small army of fellow artists who brought this ambitious project to vivid life. Gaming and theatre are escapes but are at their best, as with No Save Points, when we are drawn into an escape that illuminates an intense personal truth that ultimately has to be faced.