UNIVERSAL, YES, BUT ALSO ESOTERIC
Who’s to say what constitutes a monumental event – something as vast as a meteor shower versus the provincial act of trying to go home again?
This is the unspoken question posed by British Playwright Casey Jay Andrews in her intimate tale Oh My Heart, Oh My Home currently playing at The Studio Theater‘s tiny fourth-floor Stage 4.
First performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, it is the story of a Freddy, who goes back home to a small town where her grandfather, Howard, has lived for 40 years. The occasion is to celebrate her 33rd birthday on the day of a meteor shower, which occurs every 33 years. Freddy is lonely and missing family and a sense of home/belonging. She is also searching for life’s meaning and equates the meteor shower with her birth.
The large dollhouse in Oh My Heart, Oh My Home
In this way, Andrews, who plays the story’s narrator, marries the wonder of the universe with everyday occurrences.
Andrews’ words are simple, but impactful. She tells the audience:
“Experts say wonder is an essential human emotion, a salve for a turbulent mind. That it’s critical to our well-being, just like joy, contentment and love. Awe can come from big moments like seeing a meteor shower or climbing a mountain, or small moments like helping your child take her first steps, witnessing an act of kindness. It’s being in the presence of something vast that transcends our understanding of the world.”
Casey Jay Andrews
The story is bittersweet. Freddy manages to go back home where she used to live with her grandparents, but her grandmother, Win, has long since passed away, and her grandfather, Howard — also lonely — is in danger of losing his home and actually goes missing in the story. The narration tells the love story between the grandparents and their strong bond to the surrounding mountains and trees.
Central to the set sits a large dollhouse — Freddy’s old home — in whose rooms Andrews propels the story’s plot. The rooms are covered with cloth until each one is revealed in turn.
A large projector faces the back wall, and projects newsreels and images to accompany the story. Videos, care of Lighting and Video Designer Rachel Samply, include Freddy growing up with her family and a 1950s clip of a woman who was hit by a falling star.
Casey Jay Andrews and musician Jack Brett
Andrews is alone on stage, save for an accompanist musician and singer, Jack Brett. His music is ethereal, but his lyrics were hard to decipher.
The production is intentionally rhapsodic, which holds beauty, but this is also its downfall. In other words, it was a bit hard to follow. It feels like Andrews is trying too hard to be poetic, which sacrifices some of the plot’s clarity. One factor that causes confusion is the fact that Andrews occasionally alternates between being the narrator and herself, which takes away the suspension of disbelief needed for the audience to stay in the story. Co-directors Dominic Allen and Steve McCourt try to pull together the play’s diverse pieces, which only sometimes works.
Other than that, the play is not without depth and gives food for thought. One wonders: Is the power of recollection strong enough to keep something alive, or should one gracefully let go of the past? Consider this: By the time one witnesses a shooting star, it has long ago vanished — so too have our memories from this world.
photos by Late Cut Media
Oh My Heart, Oh My Home
Studio Theatre
Stage 4, 1501 14th Street NW in Washington, D.C.
ends on September 22, 2024
for tickets ($40-$114), visit Studio Theatre
