in•co•gni•tus, Latin; an unknown person or thing.

Incognito by Nick Payne is an exploration of the human desire to know. The play, currently being presented by Tin Drum Theatre Company at Theater Wit, weaves together stories and their characters across the fabric of Einsteinian space-time, presenting them in short vignettes that are seemingly connected by wormholes which propel the audience into one moment before jettisoning us into another. The anchor plot follows the true story of Einstein's brain after it was removed during the autopsy conducted by Thomas Harvey (Teddy Boone), who, with the permission of Einstein's son, Hans Albert (Riles August Holiday), promised to publish his studies on what made Einstein's brain unique in scientific journals–a promise he is unable to fulfill despite decades of study on the brain.

In the play's complementary storyline, we are introduced to Henry Maison (also played by Holiday) and his fiancée, Margaret Thompson (Erin Alys). Also partially based on a true incident, we are introduced to Maison while he is under the care of doctors following an operation to reduce the severity of his seizures, which caused anterograde amnesia–an inability to form and retain new memories. Think Memento. The bridging stories center on Martha Murphy (the biological daughter of Henry Maison) and Evelyn Einstein (each played by Shannon Leigh Webber). Both women discover revelatory information about their respective fathers, due in large part to scientific studies conducted on their fathers' brains and psychological conditions. The stories of Martha and Evelyn bring a human weight to the connection with Einstein's brain and Maison's condition that provide a powerful counterpoint to the callous indifference of the people studying them for scientific aims.

Incognito is, in short, a play about the conditions of knowing ... anything and everything. What does it mean to know yourself? What does it mean to know love? What does it mean to know family? What does it mean to know the universe? What can really ever be known? The play provides few answers. Yet it captures well the beauty and awe found in the theatrical laboratory. Incognito asks us to come face to face with our own limits of cognition–of knowing–while we also suspend our disbelief in our knowledge that we are watching actors playing characters in a play. Payne's play sits squarely at the intersection of a willingness to let go of what you know and the fear of the unknown which may result.

Director Jason Palmer deftly handles the abstract premises of the play, presenting the disjointed stories of in a largely unadorned, timeless space. Just two chairs and a piano aptly support the actors as they drive the tempo of fast-paced jumps across time, place and story. A large neuron floats sentinel above the stage–with design elements by Marcus Klein (scenic designer), Jack Goodman (lighting designer), and sound designer (Alex Kingsley)–pulsating with electric ambiance at each change of scene.

There is a relentlessness to the production that also manifests in the characters. Boone's portrait of Thomas Harvey, which spans his later life and career, captures a man chasing the unknown like it's a high he cannot hold anymore. Alys dazzles us with her display of dialects and her expert ability to quickly move between characters through subtle shifts in the contours of her body and the energy she holds. Her scenes with Holiday playing Maison are especially affecting. Holiday's portrayal of a man afflicted with the inability to remain present, shackled to a brain that resets time every few minutes, is heartbreakingly reflected by Alys in the helplessness that is also trapping Thompson. And Webber brings a woman-on-fire passion to her roles, captivating us through the turbulent turmoil of Murphy's journey to knowing herself and Evelyn Einstein's quest to know her father.

There is so much to love about this production. The directorial vision Palmer lays out and the impacting performances by the ensemble are both palpable and powerful. But the performance still needs to shake off some small misfirings that steer the audience away from the power of a given moment, like a sports car with a timing problem. The affective weight of some scenes sometimes drops with the transition into the following scene. In particular, the choir of dialects deployed across the various characters makes for a challenging entry point at the top of each new scene. Sometimes it takes a moment for the actors to find their character's speech again. The rhythm of the play is unsteady, but carried forward by its capable ensemble, each story's journey culminates in the beautifully tragic meeting between Martha and her aged father, Henry–which is brilliantly handled by Webber and Holiday.

But these issues are likely to iron themselves out over the course of the show's run. So, it's recommended that you catch Tin Drum Theatre Company's Incognito by Nick Payne in the coming weeks.

Tin Drum Theatre Company's Incognito runs through August 3, 2025, at Theater Wit, 1229 W Belmont, Chicago IL. Performances Thursday through Saturday at 7:30pm and Sunday at 4pm. Tickets range from $25 to $39, with $15 tickets for students. For tickets and information, please visit www.theaterwit.org.