Review: PostSecret: The Show

Both immensely enjoyable and deeply touching, PostSecret: The Show is a profound journey into our innermost secrets – our joys, struggles, and deepest thoughts that are rarely discussed in the light of day, let alone the spotlight at centre stage.

Photo: Kahlil Ashanti, Nicolle Nattrass, Ming Hudson

Photo: Kahlil Ashanti, Nicolle Nattrass, Ming Hudson

Running until February 7, this poignant work is created from the popular website PostSecret – also made into a successful series of books – which shares anonymous secrets mailed in on postcards and other eclectic belongings, moderated by Founder Frank Warren. An accessible performance, enjoyable by both long-time theatre enthusiasts and new audience members, PostSecret: The Show beautifully intertwines uplifting moments of spirit and strength with periods of overwhelming sadness as a reflection upon humanity and our profound connections to one another.

First debuting in North Carolina in April 2014, this Firehall performance – a Canadian premiere – features local performers Ming Hudson and Nicolle Nattrass, alongside Vancouver’s Kahlil Ashanti, who appeared as a member of the original cast. These three, together with moving musical accompaniment from guitarist Mario Vaira, were not so much actors in this performance, but more so storytellers guiding their audience on a journey through a varied collection of innermost secrets.

Photo: Kahlil Ashanti

Photo: Kahlil Ashanti

This work features a series of authentic postcard secrets via video projection, intermingling those that are spirited, cheeky, and uplifting, with those that are profoundly darker. While despondent, these downtrodden postcards still offer a bright side, evoking an overwhelming sense of compassion and hope that the anonymous writers of which have found a resolution to the difficulties they onetime faced. Most compelling are the moments that offer deeper insight into the story of a postcard through letters, which chronicle the compassionate acts that followed as a result of so many responding in support.

For those questioning if PostSecret: The Show is right for you, I can – without question – recommend that it is.

PostSecret: The Show runs until February 7, 2015 at the Firehall Arts Centre. 

 

Categories: Musings