Oh My Heart, Oh My Home

Oh My Heart indeed. A great story well-told is always going to get my attention, but this new show from Casey Jay Andrews is utterly captivating. It’s the tale of Freddie and her grandfather, who has lived in an old house for what seems like forever, far away from light pollution, and perfect for observing the once-in-thirty-three-year event of the Leonids, a meteor storm (much bigger than a shower) from the comet Tempel-Tuttle.

There’s much more going on than lying back on a blanket and staring up into the sky – though I’ve no doubt that storyteller Andrews could captivate her audience on that alone: there are holes in doors and signs, secrets in a study, and disappearances that has Freddie worried.

Andrews tells us the story in words and pictures: the latter coming through a projector that pushes moving images to a doll’s house in front of the audience. There are old news stories, family video footage of kids playing and laughing, and a starfield that fills the sky above the house. It’s initially closed, but as the story opens up, so does a new room in the house, lit by tiny bulbs.

The Circulating Library is the best-looking venue of Adelaide Fringe: its two-storied, wall to wall and floor to roof books makes it a tough place for a show to be more visually arresting that its surrounds, yet I challenge anyone to take their eyes from Andrews’ incredible and intricate design. The furniture, the wallpaper, the level of detail within each room is breathtaking, the real and fantastic visual elements perfectly complementing Andrews’ words.

And then there’s Jack Brett’s music, performed live (co-composed with George Jennings) – gentle electronica and falsetto vocals balance the silence beneath the stars and meteor storm.

Andrews creates the best images in our heads from a few words from her mouth, and the minutiae from the lives of those in the story are delicate and exquisite. There are tales of stars and trees and people that love them, and each other. Much like the stars of the story, she creates points of light then slowly connects them to form the whole picture. Stars out of five? As many as there are in the sky.

Achingly beautiful, wonderful storytelling, with intricate design, and ethereal music.

Review by Mark Wickett

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