1969. The same year Sesame Street premiered, Jim Henson released an experimental television production called ‘The Cube’. I was ten years old and I was TV baby. That is - I was part of the generation that welcomed TV as the new Oracle. Cable did not exist, so all of the 'interesting' stuff was shown late at night before the channels went off the air - midnight movies and experimental programs. I saw 'The Cube' a couple of times as a kid. But I really don't remember when. For my entire life it seemed like a dream. It was never was released on videotape and it was not catalogued as a movie. Jim Henson's career skyrocketed with the Muppets and 'The Cube' disappeared. Occasionally, I would look through video stores or ask other people about it, but no one knew anything. I was unaware of it, but it did surface briefly for cult movie showings during the 80's. Then came the internet and the search brought all of the TV babies together. It is as if we all saw the same UFO and now we are finally talking about it. I soon ran across a Yahoo group and found a copy of the film. It is now in the public domain. I watched it again for the first time in 35 years. Closure - it does exist after all.

'The Cube' is about the existential dilemma faced by a man who suddenly finds himself trapped inside an 8 foot by 8 foot cube. He can't get out, but apparently other people can come and go as they please through panels in the walls. At first the Man is curious, but slowly gets more and more frustrated and dejected. It is a production reminiscent of Huis Clos (No Exit) by Sartre; where physical boundaries affirm the reality of psychological isolation. It is a fascinating, dark film that is often offbeat and humorous. The 20 characters are all interesting parodies of common human stereotypes. At times it seems that Jim Henson has created an existential drama with people puppeting the roles instead of Muppets. On another layer, TV  itself is 'The Cube'. It presents us with attention deficit clichés which offer no insights or answers - just entertainment. It teases us with familiarity and humor, but ultimately leaves us feeling empty and trapped.

I showed my own children the film and they were pulled into it much like I was. It seems that there is a connection between childhood and the recognition of spatial boundaries concerning personality and our relationships with others. Apparently... the cube analogy is all too familiar. Adults tend to react to dated nature of the film and dismiss it as just plain weird. After watching the film, my son Jack and I got into an elevator and watched the doors close. He looked up at me and asked 'Are we inside The Cube now Dad?'.   

After watching the film a few times I decided to adapt the screenplay into a minimalist stage production. There is really no need for a physical cube. In fact - the dilemma is even more intense because of course - the cube does not exist as a physical reality. The audience does not need to be reminded of the conditions of confinement once they realize the Man's situation. This eases the production overhead as well and allows the audience to focus on the action and movement without being distracted by scene changes.

There was a recent stage production of The Cube performed in Germany called Kubus.
Here is the trailer and some video stills. Kubus

The Script
The Group

Flanigans Wake