JOHN NG, RICHARD ZEPPIERI & COMPANY

carried away on the crest of a wave

the sum of all its parts

As a sporadically beautiful poetic treatment of an intensely tragic event David Yee's current production, onstage at Tarragon Theatre until May 26th, is a valiant, frequently flawed attempt to reveal the global interconnectedness of individuals affected by the 2004 tsunami. 

Nina Lee Aquino's direction, although sharp and sensitive in some instances, takes on almost parodic proportions in certain scenes - rupturing the gentle poetry of a script that moves into very human, oddly comic encounters at a moments notice, jarring the audience into a bewildering sense of narrative disarray.




















JOHN NG & EPONINE LEE

Moving tableau like moments between a child and the man who has saved her life are beautifully directed instances of physical precision that are at once poignant and humourous. A kind Alice in Wonderland scene, however, falls into a strange, fantasy laden abyss of confusing visual and narrative chaos, utilizing props and lighting that detract from the simple almost proverb-like qualities of some of the dialogue. 

ASH KNIGHT & KAWA ADA

Aquino hits a number of highs and lows as her direction excels within individual performances but falters here and there due to broad, obvious staging often hindered by an overly ambitious set that impresses at the outset yet becomes somewhat water-logged with overwhelmingly obvious production values  - literally and figuratively - by the end of the evening. At a certain point one simply tires of seeing actors traipsing through giant puddles when the narrative doesn't necessitate any obvious reference to the devastating effects of the mammoth wave that took the lives of so many. Intending to perhaps drive home the point regarding a water ravaged landscape, the onstage small lake-like environment tends to trivialize the overall aesthetic of the play's uneven poetic message.

RICHARD ZEPPIERI, RICHARD LEE, & ASH KNIGHT

    RICHARD ZEPPIERI & MAYKO NGUYEN

Standout performances by Richard Zeppieri and Mayko Nguyen reveal elements of a kind of white colonizing influence in the midst of an otherwise non-white, ethnically diverse cast. The brief insertion of a conflicted media presence gives Zeppieri the opportunity to deliver a very satiric political song that creates an extremely uncomfortable and darkly comic commentary on the ways in which western media and celebrity often attempt to save the world through dubious artistic endeavor. Later, an extended scene between Zeppieri and Nguyen creates intense and conflicted sexual connections rooted in one man's futile search for a partner lost in this apocalyptic act of nature.                                

Ultimately, carried away on the crest of a wave tries very hard to portray the terrible loss and pain experienced by a hand full of individuals representing the thousands affected. By degree, the script delivers tenderness, bravery, poignancy, and great human struggle, yet falters at crucial moments due to an uneven equation of both direction and narrative - reducing the sum of this plays many parts to a frequently shallow, fragmented ride through a profoundly disturbing emotional and physical landscape.

RUNNING AT TARRAGON THEATRE 
UNTIL MAY 26TH