You pretty much know from the beginning that Lou (Cher Alvarez), who’s a nervous wreck, isn’t crazy — that she really is seeing ghosts, as she claims.
After all, there’s the title: “Paranormal Activity.” But her sympathetic husband, James (Travis A. Knight) — they’re recently wed Americans who have just moved from Chicago to a rambling old house in London — doesn’t believe in ghosts. And, although brought up in a church-going family, he’s not so sure about the existence of God, either.
The two-story house, of course, is a primary factor in creating the necessary ambience. In Fly Davis’s wonderfully detailed design, we feel like we’re looking into a dollhouse, as the couple goes up and down the staircase, from kitchen to living room to bathroom to hallway to bedroom, sometimes disappearing into a mysterious walk-in closet, from which emerges…
Another main attraction is the undeniable presence of phantoms, as conjured by lighting designer Anna Watson in subtle, barely-glimpsed ways.
The first time a faint shadow flits across the stage, the audience gasps. And the first time a genuine trompe l’oeil suddenly materializes (by Chris Fisher, illusions designer), we flat-out scream. But that’s just the beginning of the other-worldly effects.
Perhaps it’s the sound (by Gareth Fry) that plays most on our nerves. There’s nothing like sudden deafening noises and undercurrents of spooky music to make the heart beat faster.
More than a scarefest
But this two-act play, written and restaged by Levi Holloway, directed by Felix Barrett and produced by American Conservatory Theater with a host of other producing partners across the country, isn’t just a scarefest. There’s a real relationship between the young couple that’s under examination here, one that becomes clearer in the second act.
Religious beliefs are discussed and argued (James grew up in the church but now is quasi-atheist). A stern medium (Etheline Cotgrave), in the manner of England’s late-19th-century obsession with seances and spiritualism, is hired with alarming results.
Tricks abound: the power goes out repeatedly; the TV turns itself on and off; lots of the action transpires in near dark; the doorbell rings but of course no one’s there — you know, all the scary stuff you’d expect.
Still, this play, very entertaining and very well staged as it is, goes a step farther: It delicately explores the relationship between husband and wife, and Alvarez and Knight are totally up to the task, exploring with deep emotional authenticity the efforts of a truly loving couple battling major but possibly unearthly obstacles in their marriage. Is there anything scarier than the sudden realization that someone you love turns out to be not who you think they are?
Here, initially divided by separate belief systems, Lou and James go through a series of transitions — emotional, theological, psychological — in an effort to understand the incomprehensible and keep their marriage intact. (Even James’ loving but overly interfering mother, played by Shannon Cochran, seen chatting on Facetime from America, is … well, you’ll see.) So there’s lots more at stake here than whether the ghosts, if they are real, will be driven out of the house, and out of mind.
Ultimately, though, it’s the familiar tropes of horror movies that thrill audiences. In “Paranormal Activity,” I experienced cold chills six times during the course of the two-act play. Very satisfying.
American Conservatory Theater’s “Paranormal Activity” continues through March 22 at the Toni Rembe Theater, 415 Geary St., San Francisco. Tickets are $25 to $130 at www.act-sf.org.
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