Lessons In Letting Go: In ‘rheology,' Shayok Misha Chowdhury's Secret Weapon Is His Physicist Mother

In “Rheology,” Shayok Misha Chowdhury, an experimental theatre artist, and his mother, Bulbul Chakraborty, a theoretical physicist, span nan connection of their different disciplines to research a taxable beloved to some of them: loss.

Chowdhury, writer of nan play “Public Obscenities,” a 2024 finalist for nan Pulitzer Prize, and nan head of nan sensational off-Broadway accumulation of Jordan Tannahill’s “Prince Faggot,” is arsenic tenderly devoted to his mother arsenic nan young Marcel was to his ain successful Proust’s “In Search of Lost Time.” The thought of his mother dying is insupportable to Chowdhury, but fixed that she’s successful her 70s and he’s successful his 40s definite terrifying realities must beryllium faced.

“Rheology,” which is receiving its West Coast premiere astatine REDCAT (in a little tally ending Saturday), is nan portion they’ve created to hole Chowdhury for that fateful day. This strikingly staged Bushwick Starr, HERE Arts Center and Ma-Yi Theater Company accumulation is an interdisciplinary research that is arsenic playful successful its methodology arsenic it is superior successful its investigation aims.

Chakraborty, a professor astatine Brandeis University, starts disconnected pinch a physics lesson. Her taxable is sand, and she poses a elemental question: Is nan soil pouring done nan hourglass sitting connected nan antagonistic earlier her a liquid aliases a solid?

A charismatic teacher, she knows really to Socratically prosecute a room. Her welcoming mode draws retired from nan assemblage nan different ways soil behaves some for illustration a coagulated and for illustration a liquid.

Shayok Misha Chowdhury and Bulbul Chakraborty successful “Rheology” astatine REDCAT.

(Courtesy of Roy and Edna Disney CalArts Theater (REDCAT)
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Rheology, aliases nan subject of really a constituent responds to outer stress, is her main interest. Her research, focused connected soft condensed matter, has been seeking a broad mentation to explicate nan funny elasticity of specified material. A photograph of a soil dune, successful which she’s seated alongside Chowdhury arsenic a toddler, helps exemplify her constituent that soil tin travel for illustration a liquid yet clasp its style for illustration a solid.

An onstage sandbox is much than conscionable different ocular accompaniment to her talk. It’s a root of some elemental enigma and childlike wonder. But elucidation is her motive. She enters nan container pinch her bare feet, noting nan measurement nan soil flows astir her toes yet supports her weight successful study of nan norm that “every atom has to beryllium successful unit balance.”

She writes equations connected nan committee to explicate these findings, equations that statesman to glow arsenic nan accumulation moves from nan realm of axenic subject to nan much slippery domain of art. The transition, for illustration each aspects of this piece, is frolicsomely conducted.

While pouring soil from 1 instrumentality to another, Chakraborty appears to beryllium flooded pinch dust. For a moment, it’s not clear if this is portion of nan show aliases a aesculapian incident until Chowdhury, discreetly occupying a spot successful nan audience, asserts himself arsenic nan director. He asks his mother to tally done nan decease segment pinch a different series of movements and introduces nan accompaniment of George Crotty connected cello to liberate her performance.

They are rehearsing not truthful overmuch Chakraborty’s extremity but Chowdhury’s reaction. He assumes he will autumn isolated and vows to dice himself retired of heartbreak. Chakraborty wants him to transportation connected his work, conscionable arsenic she carried connected her investigation arsenic a mother pinch a young boy who would wail uncontrollably erstwhile she would driblet him disconnected astatine daycare.

She recounts that his affectional outbursts were truthful utmost that it was achy leaving him behind. But she was assured that he was handling nan separation. For proof, she was taken into a backstage teacher’s room, wherever done a one-way reflector she saw him constitute himself soon aft her departure and commencement to play pinch nan different children.

Mother and boy enact a akin business where, aft a much imperishable leave-taking, she tin drawback a glimpse of her boy recovering himself sufficiently to past her loss. Chowdhury, a queer creator who enjoys sampling capacity modes, adopts nan fig of nan grieving Bollywood widow. The effect isn’t to lampoon but to face his earthy emotion and to trial his capacity for resilience.

The research mightiness sound sentimental, but Chakraborty, nan production’s concealed weapon, maintains a technological restraint, albeit 1 suffused pinch maternal anguish. The measurement she listens to her son, takes successful his feelings, mildly suggests different possibilities of consequence and treats his experimental theatre portion pinch nan aforesaid dignity arsenic her ain investigation is incredibly moving to witness. Her capacity won an Obie Award, and though she insists that she’s not an character she demonstrates a sincerity and collaborative grace that galore seasoned performers would envy.

As it unfolds, “Rheology” tin look piecemeal, moreover haphazard. There’s an informality built into nan production, but it’s somewhat deceptive because nan mercurial staging is highly precise. Chowdhury’s guidance has ocular panache. Kameron Neal’s video creation transforms Krit Robinson’s portion lab, portion speech hallway group into thing kaleidoscopic.

When mother and boy singing songs from nan celebrated rhythm by Bengali writer-composer and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore aliases clasp a deathbed speech successful Bangla, nan portion spins further crossed clip and space. Empiricism gives measurement to surrealism. But nan world, arsenic immoderate intelligence probing into nan atomic level tin attest, contains much secrets than meets nan eye.

Fragile matter is Chakraborty’s specialty, and her expertise is put to caller usage successful shoring up her son’s tender heart.