La Mama
9 May 2009, season
La Mama Theatre
La Mama Theatre
Never doubt the power of simple, evocative story telling. Like the best bedtime story or campfire yarn, The Keeper gently lulls us into a beautiful, mysterious world and never leaves out the scary or the sad bits.
Chrissie Shaw and Penelope Bartlau developed a tale about the desolate life endured by families on Australian lighthouse islands. This life is viscerally created with a bath of white sea-salt rocks, found objects, undecorated Matryoshka (Russian nesting) dolls and Connie.
As the trusted narrator, Shaw tells us Connie’s story, with tales of loss, hope, danger, despair and acceptance. Shaw is the only person on the stage, who never asks or expects us to watch her perform; but helps us to travel to the islands and discover their secrets for ourselves. The skill of amazing narration is to be forgotten, and it’s Shaw’s strength and consistency that let us care about a non-descript wooden doll.
Director Bartlau creates depth and impact through the simplicity of the objects and puppets. The Keeper is never about re-creating a storm or death, but about giving us the essence of each experience, so that we can create the emotion for ourselves. The striking poignancy of a handful of red rocks is enough to create a silence that is only worn away by the wave-like sound of the moving salt rocks.
This is theatre that respects its audience and trusts in the power and originality of the watchers’ imaginations.
