Claws is being billed as a “telephonic thriller,” a play and role-playing game where you “Survive your own horror movie.”  You, the audience member, are volunteering for the Etcetera Helpline.  At your appointed time, you receive a phone call from your first patron, Danny (either Malachi Madrone or Cole Steeves), a sixteen-year-old boy who has trapped a monster in his closet.  You have to help Danny.

How do you help a boy with a monster in his closet?  I reassured Danny that I believed him (this seemed important to him).  I advised him to arm himself.  I tried to see if the monster had any relationship to family trauma, as Danny’s mother is dead and he has a tough relationship with his father (it did not).  Danny also wants to hear that his non-monster problems are not unique, and he draws out a good deal of biographical information from you, the volunteer, in the process.  This information, of course, is used later, and I have to admit it is quite frightening to hear an unseen monster speak your mother’s name over the phone.

Directed by Evan Neiden, Claws is simple and successful in its execution, and in a way it evokes lockdown-era theater, when artists had to use the closure of theaters as a strength rather than a limitation.  It should also be noted that a great deal of time is being invested in each audience member, as the actors give forty to sixty minutes of individualized attention to each.

I hope to see Claws extended through Halloween, and I hope to see more like it.

Claws runs through October 8th. 40-6o minutes. No intermission. Available worldwide.