Dacha Theatre Breaks Fourth Wall with Immersive Narratives

The art of theater has pushed the boundaries of human innovation time and again, bringing stories to life in wondrous ways that often feel like magic. But it has met many challenges along the way. Cultural, political, and technological shifts have forced theater to evolve and change in order to stay relevant.

In the last century, theater has met its greatest adversary yet: film. Much can be accomplished through the eye of a camera which cannot be easily done in a live space, like  forced viewpoints, CGI, and extravagant settings to name just a few. But there is one limitation to film which it may never truly conquer: It exists predominantly behind the fourth wall. 

There are some who have begun to carve windows into that wall. Virtual reality and choose-your-own-adventure films stand at the forefront of efforts to create a more immersive experience and give audiences a bit more agency in how a narrative plays out. Still, the pathways in film are limited to those prewritten. 

Theater, in contrast, bears a unique flexibility with its live presentation and offers infinite opportunities. Most flexible of all are the immersive theater experiences put on by companies like Dacha Theatre. They have torn down the fourth wall in its entirety and invited spectators into the worlds of their productions. 

While the concept of immersive theater takes its root in ancient Greece, it has only recently settled into its modern form, exploring the vast potentials of ripping apart the structure of theater and setting it free upon the whims of the actors and the audience. 

In this bold quest, I truly believe elements of immersive theater to be the future of the live entertainment industry and one of its greatest defenses against film’s dominion. For now, the way to that future remains greatly uncharted. Dacha has set upon the path undaunted. They are, as Co-founder and Artistic Director Kate Drummond stated at the season launch party, “setting out into the unknown and dealing with the consequences.” 

Cast of The Pomegranate Tree: Liam He, Ksenia Bosviert, James Schilling, Angel Gao, Sean Hendrickson, Riley Gene, Logan West, (front) Amber Tanaka, Kenzie "Kit" Wells, Orianna O'Neill, Karis Ho, Walden Barnett Marcus

Credit: Brett Love

So what is Dacha? Dacha is a dream which found its origin in Co-founder and Artistic Director Mike Lion’s backyard. He had been producing a bedtime story adaptation of Romeo and Juliet when he met Kate, an actress in the show with theatrical visions aligned with his own. Their company bore the name Nantucket West for a fleeting night before it changed to Dacha, a Russian term described to me as a place one goes to with their chosen family to create, relax, and rejuvenate. It is a joyful, magical escape from life, yet also a place to sit around and share one’s deep emotions, be they joyous or tragic. It is a term I find perfectly sets the tone for this company’s mission and work.

Three words sit at the heart of Dacha Theatre: Devised, immersive, and playful. They seek to inspire curiosity and empathy within those who come to see their shows and push the bounds of imagination. All of which was highlighted in their first production of the season.

The Pomegranate Tree was announced to the public as a devised theater piece disguised as a party, and attendees were encouraged to “dress up, enjoy libations, dance, and help craft the narrative anew each night”. Created by Ayla Wren Wallace and Suz Pontillo, this show retold the myth of Hades and Persephone. Guests, or ‘mortals’ as we were deemed, were invited to make their way into the underworld and attend their wedding alongside gods and heroes from legends long known.

The concept evolved from Suz’s love of the Hades video game. As in video games, immersive theater invites audiences to choose how their experience unfolds. By following the directives of certain characters and interacting with certain events, each audience member experiences the show differently. Likewise, if the same person comes to the show again, and they make different choices, the narrative will change accordingly, encouraging people to come again and again to experience each way the story may unfold. The ancient myths seemed a perfect playground for this sort of structure, laden with multitudes of characters and epic stakes.

When asked about what drew her to Greek mythology, Ayla said, “You can continue to plow these mythological stories for things that feel relevant to your very mortal existence.” The Greek mythologies have always had a level of raw humanity to them. The gods were immortal, yet they loved, they feared, and they hated. They suffered jealousy, pride, and heartache, and they faced many of the struggles we face ourselves, even thousands of years after the stories were written.

The Hades and Persephone tale and the stories interwoven within it highlight a lot of these emotions. It is why so many have adapted it. From comics to games to musicals and narrative retellings, the story has been told many times over, yet still it can be made anew.

One aspect Ayla and Suz wished to focus on was Persephone’s struggle of belonging and learning to have autonomy over the direction of her own life. They chose to represent this by incorporating inclusive and queer elements into the story and placing audience members into positions where they were faced with challenges that mirrored those in their own lives, asking the audience to be vulnerable and willing to give wisdom and receive wisdom in turn. As Ayla put it, they wanted people “to find humanity on the other side of eternity.”

But I don’t wish to spoil too much just yet. A full review of the show itself will be published soon. For now, I wish to turn toward what comes next for Dacha. 

Dacha’s 2024-2025 season contains four shows of varying immersivity. Following The Pomegranate Tree will be an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma, written by Kate Hamill and performed at 12th Ave Arts. Next will be The Grown Ups, originally written and produced by Nightdrive, an immersive company in New York, to be performed around a campfire. Wrapping up their season will be Yaga, a play written by Kat Sandler, which will be performed somewhere deep within the woods.  

Dacha has always believed theater and art should be accessible to all. Thus, their shows and season subscriptions operate on a sliding scale. They hope in doing so, they can build and foster a community of people who harbor a love for art and who relish in the pursuit of it.