Next Folding Theatre Company presents ‘Songs of the Seer,’ a “creative collaboration” showcasing a world of intercontinental imagination. The play features two cultures at war with one another and their individual responses to conflict. It ultimately begs the question: do actions under duress constitute a place within the muddled dichotomy of good and evil?
At the heart of this creation is artistic director Ryan Griffith, who invites collaborators to bring their own voice to a world of colonialism and conflict, all with a steampunk backdrop. Beyond that he provides each act with an epilogue and a prologue to supplement the episodic nature of the play.
With so many creative minds involved in the production’s writing process, audiences were greeted with a non-linear yet philosophically-provoking storyline. Each of the ten main members of the cast offer a unique perspective on what it means to live in a resource-depleted society. From a soldier’s past coming back to haunt him, a training session gone horribly wrong, cultism, myths about the sea and the sky, and a man trusting a seer with their haunted child (in that order), Act I brings us the struggles faced by the Huffian people in their attempts to protect their homeland from those who seek to harvest it. In such stressful times, distrust between characters is a common occurrence as the Huffians fight for their lives, and we are given a glimpse of how such conflict impacts those at the forefront; does one ever detach from the person they become during their time as a pawn of violence?
The Icarian clan, meanwhile, comes with its own set of contemplative individuals in Act II, including a guard who demands that her partner confront the notion of good and evil, and whether or not either side can claim the former. One scene utilizes visually-striking lighting techniques and excellent vocal exploration to create an encapsulating slow-motion effect. The act is chock-full of accessible references, from the universal, force-connecting yin-yang relations to more local shoutouts such as Fred Nebula. Act II forces audiences to look morality dead in the eye, hopeful that we realize good and evil is not as cut-and-dry as it seems.
Next Folding’s final production features a flexible cast, each donning a variety of roles throughout, to share their messages of war and resolution. With each scene being credited to a member of the main cast, it was only appropriate that the spotlight be shared just as liberally, with countless characters brought to life by the same minds that dreamed them up. Eerie deer masks were used to represent characters connected to a cult (aptly called ‘the Claw’), while the Icarian masquerade pieces indicated their superior attitudes.
Audiences may find themselves scratching their heads due to the excessive exposition (which was sadly unavoidable, given the play’s episodic structure), and the non-linear style makes an already plothole-ridden production a little bit trickier to map out. Nevertheless, watching these characters live their experiences in the middle of the conflict is nothing short of eye-catching.
A behind-the-lines war story with a plot as complicated as its lessons, ‘Songs of the Seer’ reminds us that we may never know the answers to the effects of duress, black and white morality, or what “bop, bop, bop” even means.
Next Folding Theatre Company’s ‘Songs of the Seer’ will be showing at the Charlotte Street Arts Centre on March 15th and 16th at 7:30pm.