Girl Inside the Mirror

Entering the theater, we thought we knew what we were in for: something between a play and a modern dance performance, telling the story of a girl who travels to a parallel world through her mirror, where she faces the torment of six women.

What we didn’t expect, though, was a full-on exposé of what it’s like to live with a multiple personality disorder.

Girl Inside the Mirror enjoyed a successful run this summer at Planet Connections Theatre Festivity in the Lower East Side, where it played to sold-out houses and earned eight nominations for Planet Awards.

If you caught the show then, you know why it was selling out. And it should come as no surprise that an extension would be in order.

Enter Theatre for the New City’s three-week Dream Up Festival, where we managed to catch the performance on its final evening this past Saturday.

Telling the story of girl (Rachel Berman) who is repeatedly visited by her younger self (Carrie Keating), two women in black dresses (Anna Adams Stark and Kaylin Johnson) who pester and control every aspect of her behavior, and four additional personalities (Sara Gallasini, Kelly Bartnik, Tara Sheena and Kim Savarino) that deride her with judgment and verbal abuse, this one-act, forty-five minute piece delivers a highly-emotional experience through an effective blend of choreography, lighting and the minimal necessary dialogue.

“Let’s try to keep all our parts together,” the voices plead.

“This body is not your body,” they taunt. “It was stolen from the time you were born.”

“You will never live in peace,” they warn.

“Now, stay quiet and be a good girl.”

At times synchronized but often offset or even intertwined, the teasing from the ensemble presents a horrific image of a condition that is impossible to control and intolerable to live with.

With tight, potent choreography and plenty of mood-inducing lighting (Gilbert “Lucky” Pearto), this work by Nicoletta Mandriotti merges modern dance with just enough of a traditional dramatic experience to satisfy aficionados of either genre—and especially those of both.

If you were fortunate enough to catch the show—at either the Planet Connections or Dream Up Festival—let us know what you thought of it!

Your reviews help others find out what they’ve been missing, and your ratings help us help you find future performances you’ll love!