Bathysphere

Produced for The Sonic Society’s annual “Summerstock Playhouse,” in which contemporary audio theater producers recreate classic Old Time Radio shows, Bathysphere gave us a chance to engage with one of my favorite radio playwrights. Though he may no longer be a household name, Arch Oboler is one of the quintessential radio dramatists of the 20th century, and many of his works — scary, dramatic, absurd, darkly funny — maintain a surprising relevance today.

Certainly this is the case with Bathysphere, which prompted several great conversations during rehearsal about its themes, meaning, and ramifications. I will remember those conversations fondly, along with the dream-team cast and crew, and the fact that we gradually dimmed the lights as the recording went on to give the performers a growing feeling of immersion and claustrophobia.

Oboler’s vision of power and authority is bleak. But embedded in this dark tale is a ray of hope. As the Leader himself admits, he and his kind will always have one insurmountable weakness: “You could have gone to the people.”

—Robert Arnold