Yes, any production of the script would seem tough to mount, pardon the expression. The audience is so near the actors here, they can't quite replicate the experience truthfully enough for our eyes. In the play, two Americans are climbing K2, the planet's second-highest mountain, on the border between China and Pakistan. At 27, 000 feet they battle biology: Their bodies are taxed, their minds are running on empty. The two actors, under the direction of Damen Scranton, have done their homework on every moment in the 80-minute intermissionless piece. Try as they might, however, we're watching that work. The piece might have been better served if it were set farther upstage. That said, the blocking on Hawkes' set is fascinating, as the sturdier climber, Taylor, makes his way up and down the "ice wall" while the failing Harold remains tethered on a ledge.
Jake Suffian gives a highly physical performance as Taylor, who serves as coach, nurse, and confessor for the ailing Harold. Suffian bellows and goads, curses and comforts. As Harold, Sean Galuszka gives a more internalized performance, as his character reminisces, takes stock of his current condition, and makes a life-and-death decision. Without giving his character's decision away, Galuszka wears Harold's emotions clearly and comfortably. Only his futzing with a piece of rope distracts us from his intended characterization.
Meyers' script is least successful when it goes into informational exposition. It is most successful when it trusts the audience, particularly in the monologue that ends the play. The troubling part of the script is not Meyers' fault, however; it is the question of why a man with a wife and young child would leave them to pursue this dangerous hobby. A portion of the dialogue about quantum physics might be Meyers' attempt to address this.
Leigh Allen's delicate lighting creates airless sunlight shaded by occasional clouds. The excellent sound design of cold wind and cascading rocks is uncredited.