Worm-Hole (Edmonton Reviews)
ARCHIVE EDITOR'S NOTE --- The following reviews and promo material for Worm-Hole are in connection with the 2002 Edmonton Fringe Festival held in late August in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
INTELLECTUALLY CHALLENGING --- Niki McCretton has put together a performance art piece that is visually pleasing, intellectually challenging and emotionally demanding. A nun-like figure enters a room and goes through an elaborate ritual to prepare for the arrival of some person or persons of great import. Nothing happens. The ritual is repeated time and time again, its practitioner growing weary, frustrated and filled with doubt at her faith’s consistent failure. A commentary on organized religion? An indictment of the media and the cult of personality it fosters? A rant against the religion of science? A celebration of the joys of self-discovery and independence? Worm-Hole is all this and more. Be warned: the audience is required to think and feel. Not recommended for Edmonton Sun subscribers.
(Richard Cairney - SEE Magazine - 4/5 Stars - 20 August 2002)
PHENOMENAL PRESENCE --- Niki McCretton, alone and with next-to-no dialogue, enraptures her audience with her phenomenal physical presence and unparalleled imagination.
(Jenny Feniak - Vue Weekly Magazine - August 2002)
THIS IS A GEM --- I'm an English teacher and I can't think of a good word that fits. This is a gem - colour, actions - an altogether piece; clever, but not in the trivial sense - in the releasing, gut-wrenching way of a giggle at church.
(Anonymous Audience Member - CBC Edmonton Fringe Companion Website - August 2002)
PLEASING SIMPLICITY --- Niki McCretton, the one woman of the one-woman Worm-Hole, eats, drinks, washes, hopes, exercises, prays and plays until chaos and subtle madness transform her rituals. She literally compartmentalizes her life into little boxes, her needs and desires, maintaining order and cleanliness as long as she can. Worm-Hole is a weird, wrenching and brave play with only a couple of spoken sentences. After nearly an hour of silence, each word is highly significant. Or not. McCretton speaks with well-formed gestures and manners, mingling with the soundtrack to mirror a day and a life. This play is not an argument, not linear. McCretton incorporates dance, performance art and physical comedy into Worm-Hole, compressing a life into a series of movements. The effect is holistic and wholly baffling. The set breaks down in tandem with McCretton's unnamed protagonist, its pleasing and well-planned simplicity falling into strangely appealing ruin.
(Todd Babiak - Edmonton Journal - 3.5/5 Stars - 18 August 2002)
A STUNNING PERFORMANCE ON MANY LEVELS --- I saw this show twice in Minneapolis last week - it's amazing! It works on an intellectual, emotional and physical level, thanks to the agile, expressive, and graceful mind and body of playwright/solo performer Niki McCretton. A combination of dance, metaphor, drama, physical comedy and symbolism that reveals additional nuances at every showing. The show is almost totally devoid of physical voice, but Niki's novitiate speaks to us eloquently through gesture, movement and expression. It's not mime; it's a thunderously silent, intimate exploration of joyful, expectant, ritual devotion turning slowly into doubt, puzzlement and finally a growing, wondrous awareness of self. The music is magnificently well-integrated with the show - it is almost a second character. And the pre-show music and draped set do a wonderful job of setting the tone. So ... To the entire Worm-Hole company: Thank you! To the rest of you: Go see it!
("Minnesota Bruce" - Edmonton Plus - 4/4 Stars - 16 August 2002)
GET THEE TO A MUMMERY --- Movement-based theatre can be a visual feast, even for the uninitiated. In the skilled hands of contemporary/interpretive dancer Niki McCretton, it is a sumptuous banquet as you strip away the many allegorical layers in Worm-Hole. You can see it for what it is on the surface - a novice nun rebelling against the stifling dictates of her faith. Or is it a comment on the role of women in society? Or perhaps it is about all of us - compartmentalized through rigid ideology? Or is it a mirror of your own life? I strongly recommend you enter the Worm-Hole and decide for yourself.
(Gil T. Boy - Edmonton Plus - 4/4 Stars - 19 August 2002)
CHALLENGING FARE FROM BRITAIN (EVENT PROFILE) --- Royal Endorsement: In the blurb for British performer Niki McCretton's new play Worm-Hole, no less a theatre critic than The Prince of Wales himself (that's Prince Charles, by the way), proclaims Ms. McCretton "a great comic talent". Well, if a prince thinks it's good ..... What's It About?: According to reports from Winnipeg, the 70-minute dance/performance art/whatever piece consists of McCretton alone on stage with 26 boxes and a copy of Time Magazine she apparently worships as she cleans compulsively. One reviewer called it a "strange play" and ended up wondering, "What the hell was that?" The audience, however, did seem pleased. Another reviewer called it "thoroughly engaging and sweetly charming" and "not like anything you'll see on a mainstream stage." Which, one supposes, is the essence of Fringe Theatre ..... Edinburgh Veteran: Worm-Hole was performed at last year's Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the mother of all Fringes.
(Maurice Tougas - Edmonton Plus - August 2002)
ENTER THE WORM-HOLE! (FRINGE FORUM PROMO) --- This is movement-based theatre combining dance and athleticism with a dash of mime and mummery, and a dollop of slapstick. Contemporary/interpretive dancer Niki McCretton has created a highly allegorical piece open to wide-ranging interpretation by audience members. There is a basic set - table, seating, a wall portrait that keeps changing and a wall cabinet with various boxes. A soundtrack not only sets the tone, but defines changes. Dialogue is kept to a minimum and does not appear until close to the end, but the words have impact and meaning. On the surface, the storyline seems simple enough - a novice nun enters a cloistered existence filled with rigid daily ritual and devotion. Her life is no longer her own - all is set out for her represented by the change in music, the portrait she worships and the content of the boxes. Soon, frustration and rebellion set in.
But as past audience members in Britain, Prague, Thunder Bay, Winnipeg and Minnesota will tell you, if you look beneath the surface, there could easily be more to it - everything from a feminist perspective to a visual rant against our various ideologies that seek to enslave our souls. And some will tell you that they were somewhat shocked to realize that the play was a mirror of their own lives. This is not all dry and serious, tho. Through Niki's skilled physicality, there is very much a comic element. And please don't have the impression you will be watching something with nothing but dance movements. When I first saw Worm-Hole, Niki reminded me a bit of the legendary clown, Emmett Kelly, in her ability to mingle physical absurdity and slapstick with poignancy and delicacy. I strongly feel there is something for everyone in this performance. And even if you feel you're not "getting it", just shut down your mind and watch Niki weave her magic. Thinking can come later.
(Robin Chase - Canada.Com/Edmonton Fringe Forum - 19 August 2002)
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