Hi theatre friends.

I have more Stratford reviews coming soon (and maybe even an interview!), but I’m taking a pause to chat about a show I saw last night, Perceptual Archaeology (or How To Travel Blind) at Crow’s Theatre in Toronto. This show closes in 3 days, so I wanted to get this out quickly in case some of you want to catch it. (I’ve heard that some readers went to see Sizwe Banzi after my review came out. Super cool. I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!)

Sadly, though, I suspect many of you will not be able to make it to Crow’s Theatre on such short notice (my bad), so I’ll try to fill you in on what you missed, without giving away too much in case it comes back.

Perceptual Archaeology (or How To Travel Blind) is aptly named, as you can deduce what it’s about pretty easily. This piece was written and performed by Alex Bulmer, a blind travel-enthusiast, writer and theatre performer. The show is described as a 5-part talk adapted from radio essays for the BBC. I’d categorize it as living in the experimental theatre realm – part interactive lecture, part pantomime, part dance party. The 90-minute no-intermission show (yay) is mostly a series of monologues where Alex walks you through her travel adventures. Enzo Massara serves a supporting role in feeding Alex lines and stepping in as various travel companions throughout the piece.

Alex has a degenerative eye disease called retinitis pigmentosa, and lost her sight in her 20s/early 30s. I was actually familiar with this disease going in because of a blind Youtuber named Molly Burke (probably the most millennial thing I could say). But I think it’s important to note that it’s a degenerative condition, because Alex talks a lot about learning to embrace her blindness and the opportunities it presents to experience life in a new way, instead of trying to recreate what has been lost. As Alex said, “[her] imagination was stuck in [her] sighted past,” and once she broke free from these expectations, she “imagined space and geography through balance and bone.”

One particularly powerful scene that hit this point home happened right at the beginning of the show. Alex talks about the experience of swimming in a foreign pool, not knowing how deep or wide it is. She delicately traces her hand around the edge of the water, discovering the pool’s cracks and crumbles, noticing things that other people may never try to. It was during this dip that she was inspired to become a blind travel guide.

There was also another neat scene that took place in a church in Europe (there were a number of religious references in the show, but also some moments poking fun at the religious southern states. Probably more to unpack here). Anyway, in this particular cathedral scene, Alex and Enzo actually exit the stage and go into the lobby. I thought this was a fun choice by director Leah Cherniak, as it forces even the sighted audience members to experience the show through sound only.

In general, I found Leah’s direction to be subtle and nuanced. She mostly let Alex and her piece speak for themselves. It didn’t feel too gimmicky, which I appreciated.

One choice that I didn’t love, though, was the role of Enzo’s “character.” I put “character” in quotes because he’s playing himself, but he also has some scripted moments in the show that are sort of played off to be unscripted. Enzo pretends to be (and acts as) this sort of stage-hand that’s there to help Alex, but his banter back and forth with her makes it clear that these are scripted bits. He performed well, don’t get me wrong, but in a way this choice felt a little bit like talking down to the audience. I’m sure this worked for some people, though…just personal preference.

More things I liked about this show: the interactive nature, and Alex’s performance. Re: interactivity, I can only imagine what it’s like being a blind performer and not being able to take visual cues from the audience. We as an audience were encouraged to call out to Alex, to sing and dance along with her, and even to help guide her to various set pieces. Alex was willing to dance and sing freely, so it made me feel like I could, too (even though I’m fairly shy in my day-to-day life). I went to this show alone, and I felt oddly connected to the people sitting around me.

Re: Alex: it’s scary being so vulnerable and not being able to hide behind a character someone else has written. This is very clearly HER story, and I appreciated the passion, energy, and love she put into this performance. Alex was the piece, and she was wonderful.

This isn’t usually the type of show I see, but Crow’s Theatre puts on great productions, and I’m trying to push myself a bit, so here we are. Overall: I quite liked this show. I thought it was fresh, lively, moving, and full of hope. It was also educational, so I think that while not everyone may gravitate toward this type of theatre, everyone who sees this show will take something out of it.

Perceptual Archaeology (or How To Travel Blind) is playing at the Studio Theatre at Crow’s until June 25, 2023. You can grab tickets here. Make sure to take advantage of their Under 30 Ticket Pricing if you’re in this age bracket.

Photo credit for featured image: Crowstheatre.com. Photo of Alex Bulmer by callbackheadshots.com