The Moving Company is remounting
their 2017 original piece Speechless, although I think it's more of a reimagining than a remounting. It is once again directed by co-Artistic Director Dominique Serrand and starring co-Artistic Director Steven Epp and Producing Artistic Director Nathan Keepers, but the other three company members have changed. So while maybe the framework is the same (loosely speaking, a group of friends mourning the death of a friend), the new ensemble members bring their own talents and skills to the equation, resulting in something new and different. Truthfully, I don't remember many details about this show from seven years ago other than there were literally no words, and it was unique and inventive and moving. So it was like a new and surprising show to me, and I was able to enjoy each delightful and sometimes mysterious turn. For that reason I won't give too many details about what happens in the show, because you need to experience that yourself without any preconceptions.
So head to the Jungle before November 10, let go of expectations about narrative form, and enjoy the speechless but not silent experience of Speechless.
The show begins with the house lights up, with the ensemble (Nathan Keepers, Steven Epp, Randy Reyes, Kenzi Allen, and Helen Hatch) slowing creeping onto the stage and taking it all in, including us. They're all dressed in black trench coats over black outfits, as if at a funeral. They appear to be mourning a friend in an empty chair, whose ashes they receive. As each one starts to cry, or stop themselves from crying, it's hard to know whether to laugh, or cry with them. The story (such as it is) moves on through more discoveries, rituals, and breakdowns. A particularly emotional scene is a cathartic dance by Helen (a trained dancer) and Kenzi (a physical theater actor), leaping and screaming and expressing all of the emotions through movement. Finally, and by being together, the group is able to strip away their mourning (literally) and begin something new and colorful and hopeful.
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| the ritual of the dishes (photo courtesy of The Moving Company) |
The 2017 show was in the cavernous space of The Lab Theater (now known as Luminary Arts Center), which is quite different from the shoebox diorama stage at the Jungle. The show feels a little more contained within the box, and more intimate. The stage is bare to the brick back wall of the theater, with only a red cabinet in the center of the space. Throughout the show pieces are brought on and removed: a dining room table, white chairs, precious dishes. Every prop, every moment, every gesture feels thoughtful and intentional. As is common in MoCo shows, there is the use of elements - water and dust - creating some beautiful images. Perfectly chosen classical music (including Brahms, Schubert, and Tchaikovsky) accompany the movement, or vice versa. (Set design by Dominique Serrand, costume design by Sonya Berlovitz, lighting design by Marcus Dilliard.)
We live in a world overflowing with words, pundits and politicians and colleagues and neighbors just continually talking at us. It's refreshing to be in a space without words, which are often clunky, inexact, and misleading. 75 minutes of a silent moving meditation expressing pure emotion. Emotions of grief, loss, confusion, devastation giving way to hope and togetherness and community. This company can say more without words than some plays say with a couple hours full of words.
