The Wind Telephone
Too many threads in The Wind Telephone just leaves a knot
Rating: ★★ Review
Company: Audacious Serendipity
Genre: Storytelling
Venue: 9 — Eckhardt-Gramatte Hall
The 2011 tsunami and earthquake in Japan left more than 19,000 people dead and the country was thrown into deep mourning. To deal with his loss, Itaru Sasaki set up a phone booth to communicate with the dead. The phone is not connected but Itaru affirms that messages are delivered by the wind. Thousands of mourners travel across the country to use the Wind Phone.
Interspersed with reenactments of Japanese mourners reaching out to their lost relatives, Adam Keefe delivers a monologue exploring a colleague's suicide, his mother's heart attack, a religious survey of Japanese culture, and a general indictment of the disconnectedness of the modern world, in this one hour, one-man show.
Keefe is a talented wordsmith and a strong performer, but his reach far exceeds his grasp in The Wind Telephone. It is difficult to connect emotionally with the performance because it branches off thematically in so many different directions.
Keefe's reach far exceeds his grasp in The Wind Telephone.- Michelle Palansky
Trying to weave too many strands simultaneously, the audience is left with an intractable knot.
