It is like watching your own heart being mugged

Hmm. For the last several weeks I've been trying, and failing, to find one word that describes An Oak Tree adequately without giving too much away.

Then I saw it. In this week's Creative Loafing, An Oak Tree is labeled "experimental." Now that's a pretty good word for the piece - there's a certain danger to An Oak Tree, coupled with a deconstruction of theatrical reality, that comes across just wonderfully in that one word - experimental. Thanks to Leilani and her wordsmith colleagues I can now sum up our September show in one word, which is something I'm always glad to be able to do.

Yet, the word "experimental" doesn't give adequate credit to Tim Crouch's depth of understanding of the theatrical process, or the power of An Oak Tree to affect the audience profoundly. So I'd like to share with you a couple of quotes from the wordsmiths of the British press, who say it better than I ever could. Enjoy!

"(the play) raises questions about the mind’s ability to impose meaning on the physical world. It is philosophy in motion, if you like. You could write a thesis about it, and people probably will. But what is most amazing is that this piece, by drawing attention to its own artifice, vividly celebrates the live, raw, communal experience of theatre and the mutual give and take between actors and audience." -- FINANCIAL TIMES

"It is like watching your own heart being mugged. You know exactly how it is happening, but you still can't prevent it. On a good night, you will leave the theatre the same, but different." -- THE GUARDIAN

What more can I say? Just that every performance is different, and reveals something new about the play, about theatre, and about the physical and emotional world of the individual.

Enjoy the blog entries, dear reader, and enjoy the show.

Bridget