A Beckett Trilogy: Not I / Footfalls / Rockaby

ArtsEmerson is inviting audiences to descend in to the darkness both figuratively and literally with their stellar production of "A Beckett Trilogy" currently playing at the Paramount Theater.

The show is comprised of three of Samuel Beckett's smaller works - "Not I," "Footfalls," and "Rockaby" - and is performed with staggering precision and virtuosity by acclaimed Irish actress Lisa Dwan.

This is not a production for the faint of heart. The theater worked with the city's emergency services to allow the audience to be put into a total blackout. Between pieces you cannot even see your lap, let alone the person next to you.

It's a slightly frightening experience that makes you feel immensely vulnerable. During the down times you are left with nothing but your thoughts. It is the perfect state to experience three ruminations on mortality.

The first piece, "Not I," consists solely of a pinpoint light on Ms. Dwan's mouth as we experience her thoughts which go by at a dizzying pace. An older woman "coming up to sixty when- . . . what? . . seventy?. . good God!" recounts some previous trauma that has informed the rest of her life. Sitting in the pitch black and being bombarded by this inner monologue is vertiginous and creates a feeling of anxiety. It is both unsettling and breathtaking.

The next work, "Footfalls," is a much slower and methodical piece showing a conversation between a middle age woman and her ailing mother as she paces methodically throughout. Here Ms. Dwan performs both characters, sometimes through prerecorded text and sometimes merely through inflection. The barely existent lighting creates an effect that makes you question if she physically exists, or if we are witnessing a ghost or spirit trapped in time.

"Rockaby" rounds out the piece. It is probably the most accessible of the three and consists of an elderly woman rocking herself towards death in her mother's rocking chair. As she slowly rocks into and out of the solitary light, you can almost feel her heart and breathing winding down to their inevitable finish. It is a haunting work.

Ms. Dwan's talent cannot be overstated. These performances are so incredibly intelligent and exact. Her use of vocal rhythm and inflection throughout is masterly. It is nearly impossible to imagine anyone else performing these roles.

By all accounts, "A Beckett Trilogy" is a once in a lifetime experience.

"A Beckett Trilogy" continues through March 20 at the Emerson/Paramount Mainstage, 559 Washington Street, Boston, MA. For more information, visit the ArtsEmerson website.