A gloomily atmospheric production of a thought-provoking but bleak symbolist drama

From the very beginning of the New World’s Theatre Project’s production of Peretz Hirschbein’s 1906 drama On the Other Side of the River, the mood is cool and ominous. Patrick Rizzotti’s set, somewhat resembling an ice cave, echos with eerie winds that sound more like cries than forces of nature. In fact, a major force of nature is what drives this play. Mir’l (Jane Cortney), a young village girl on the cusp of womanhood, has lost both her parents. She lives with her blind grandfather Menashe (David Greenspan) in a cottage along a river. He and her grandmother Yakhne (Christine Siracusa) are the only family she has left. While Yakhne is running errands in the local village, a great storm arrives and causes the river to rise, consuming Mir’l and Menashe and their house. Menashe freezes to death, and Mir’l is met by a Stranger (David Arkema) who promises to keep her warm and bring her life. Mir’l must decide to either stay with her grandfather or return to life with the Stranger. Playwright Peretz Hirschbein was much more intent on building mood and atmosphere than he was in developing plot or character. Director Shannon Sindelar definitely honors this — she has created a wonderfully gloomy atmosphere that is capable of both consuming the characters and giving them life. She is well-assisted by Patrick Rizzotti’s aforementioned set, Nick Solymon’s evocative lighting design, and Erik T. Lawson’s brooding soundscape.