By Carol Davis
ENCINITAS, California.— Here’s a twofer for you: a trip and tour of San Diego Botanical Gardens and a chance to listen to a new audio play at the same time. The La Jolla Playhouse’s WoW Project, (With out Walls) is presenting a new theatre experience, (It is the first of a four year plan.) that of bringing audiences to site specific locations outside the four walls of a theatre. The exact location for Scottish playwright David Leddy’s Susurrus is in the magnificent San Diego Botanical Gardens (formerly Quail Gardens).
Upon arrival, those attending the Playhouse event will be given a map, a headset, an iPod and instructions from persons involved with the project and then the dual event will start.
Once again instructions are very precise and the first voice you hear reviews the instructions and urges you to begin your audio and visual journey starting at the #1 sign. Simple! Leddy’s play, “Susurrus” meaning “a soft murmuring or rustling sound, such as a rustling sound in the trees” is about more than soft murmuring sounds from a tree you may or may not hear.
Susurrus is actually three stories told by three different family members, but seen and referenced through their own eyes that ultimately weave and intersect with each other and oft times painting a rather bizarre and troubling picture of an atypical family. Eventually a complete a story of childhood love and loss evolves from the ruminations.
The characters include a daughter Helena and a son called Moth. Their adoptive parents are opera buffs, ergo the names; their mother talks to the backstage goings on at Benjamin Britten’s opera of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer’s Night Dream” and their adoptive father is a performer in the opera whose name coincidentally is Robin Goodfellow or Puck in the play.
Their collective memories convey anything but happy childhood ones. Laced between the backstage opera gossip and the unconventional childhood of both Helena and Moth we get a little botany lesson on birds, backstage gossip and more snippets on Shakespeare. As one phase of the story ends we are urged to move from one location to another and we are treated to some glorious musical interludes some based on the Britten opera and bits and pieces of light, sometimes humorous comments that talk to us as if the narrator was actually walking right beside us.
I would be remiss if I failed to mention the flora and fauna from all around the globe. Sprinkled about are bigger than life-sized sculptures.
I would suggest that you take a hat and wear walking shoes or something comfortable and sturdy. Dress in layers unless you start off when it’s warm but dress accordingly. Take water. Be prepared to spend the better part of 2 hours more or less depending on whether or not you want to take advantage of seeing more/spend more time just thinking about the story/ drink in the atmosphere or shop after the audio is done.
For yours truly, it was an enlightening and beautiful way to experience and enjoy another quiet yet vigorous, different and reflective yet exhilarating day.
See you at the theatre.
Dates: Through Oct. 2nd
Organization: La Jolla Playhouse
Phone: 858-550-1010
Production Type: Audio Play
Where: San Diego Botanical Garden, 230 Quail Gardens Drive, and Encinitas
Ticket Prices: $20.00
Web: LaJollaPlayhouse.org
*
Davis is a San Diego based theatre reviewer. She may be contacted at carol.davis@sdjewishworld.com