One of the things about having season tickets for a theatre company is that you end up attending performances that you would otherwise have skipped. The latest play at San Jose Rep, called “Tranced” would have been such a play for me.

Nationally recognized psychologist and playwright, Robert Clyman, takes you on an electrifying ride. Philip is a highly respected psychiatrist famous for using a form of hypnosis called “trancing” to help his patients uncover suppressed memories. When he trances Azmera, an African grad student, he unexpectedly learns of a secret that could have profound consequences for thousands in an African village. Enlisting the aid of an ambitious reporter with connections to the Director of African Affairs, Philip is pulled into a suspenseful vortex of moral deliberation, truth and the powerful art of persuasion.

I was not that excited when I read this description, but playwright Robert Clyman’s characters enchanted me from the very first lines of dialog. The plot took a number of unexpected turns but by that point I wanted to follow these characters to find out where the story would end. I would recommend “Tranced” for both for Clyman’s writing and the fine performances of the San Jose Rep cast.

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