Esoteric ‘Night Coil’ a Dazzling Puzzle

Though sometimes too esoteric for its own good, Jeffrey M. Jones’ “Night Coil” at City Garage proves an intellectually challenging, oddly humorous deconstruction of Hamlet’s famous soliloquy about the troubling dreams that may come once we have “shuffled off this mortal coil.”

In overlapping dual plots unfolding simultaneously in two adjacent rooms, a young man (John Blevins) and his doppelganger (John Busse) experience a surreal fragmentation of consciousness as they face impending death. Intrigue and unresolved mystery surround an exotic woman (Liz Davies), who might have been killed but gamely continues her haunting commentary, and a cryptic clown (Leonard Shields), who serves as the twins’ Mephistophelean guide through scenarios involving murder, eroticism and espionage.

The legacies of Shakespeare and Beckett collide with freewheeling allusions to T.S. Eliot, John Steinbeck and other literary icons, requiring close attention from viewers (a reader’s encyclopedia and concordance wouldn’t hurt, either).

Frederique Michel’s visually arresting staging evokes an eerie atmosphere of frozen menace. In lining up common words in their parallel dialogue, the performers demonstrate impressive pinpoint timing, while their frequent repetition of short phrases often dissociates sound from meaning, not unlike composer Steve Reich’s early phase-shift recordings. While the piece builds on a complex aesthetic foundation that may limit its popular appeal, it’s a dazzling puzzle for those who can follow it.

* “Night Coil,” City Garage, 1340 1/2 4th St. (alley), Santa Monica. Fridays, Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 5:30 p.m. Ends June 4. $15. (310) 319-9939. Running time: 1 hour, 15 minutes.