Theater: “Infinite Life” by Annie Baker (Atlantic Theater)

Playwright Annie Baker has taken a sharp turn from the expected in her new play “Infinite Life.”(Atlantic Theater Company). And in the first hour or so, she also appears to have taken leave of her senses.

The setting is a former motel in Northern California run by an unseen guru who prescribes fasts to clear the body’s toxins. This group of five female patients seems to have no shortage of illnesses, ranging from cancer, infections, autoimmune disorders, to “thyroid stuff.”

Sofi (Christina Kirk) is taking the cure for several reasons—among other things, she is suffering from the searing pain she gets after intercourse. Sofi, we find, has also recently separated from her husband who suspects that she is having an extramarital affair.

Nelson (Pete Simpson), a hunky new patient, appears suddenly wearing nothing more than sweatpants, enthralling the ladies as they seem as starved for men as they are for food. He too has issues—with colon cancer—and weird Sofi wants to see digital photos of his colonoscopy. Kinky.

The small talk between the female patients is vacuous and Edward Albee-like, mostly revolving around the drudgery of fasting, and the strange books they’re reading to pass the time. In fact, it’s not until Eileen (played by the inimitable Mary-Louise Burke) explains her own experience with overcoming pain that we understand what the play is about.

Many uncomfortable silences—dead air, really—resound through “Infinite Life”, and there is so little action on stage that at times you may feel your time might be better spent watching paint dry. I’m a great admirer of Baker’s “Circle. Mirror. Transformation” from years back but this play is worlds away from that. Those looking for a more linear, straightforward experience in the theater should probably look elsewhere. Way elsewhere.

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