Event

Enigma Variations

Flat Earth Theatre challenges the definitions of love, identity, and communication this spring in Eric-Emmanuel Schmitt's twisting and heart-wrenching Enigma Variations, translated from the French by Jeremy Sams. With nods to the Edward Elgar composition of the same name, a piece of music in which each movement is a variation of a popular yet unknown theme, Schmitt's story plays with the idea that each individual is inherently unknowable. Director Sarah Gazdowicz further shapes this seeming enigma with creative casting, collaboration with the actors, and ensemble work to deepen the mysteries of human nature.

Reclusive genius Abel Znorko fails to shoot an unwelcome intruder a journalist determined to interview him about his latest novel. But as Erik Larsen continues to force his way into Znorko's solitude, it becomes clear that he knows more than he should about this epistolary romance between the author and a mysterious woman named Helen. Paring away each others' lies and evasions, their interaction reveals an increasingly complex pattern in an apparently simple melody.