Review: “Where Are You?” with Mabou Mines
Featuring: Ao Lan Guo, Brendan Schwartz, John Titus, Guillermo Contreras, Rosalie Neal, Maria Müller
“Where Are You” is a Zoom production directed by Sim Yan Ying (YY) and devised by her and a talented group of actors. It tells several stories, both personal accounts and fictional, of people dealing with death and seeing to understand it. From making jokes about a dead mother, to anger at God for allowing senseless death to happen, to the political sides of death and what that means for us as people, “Where Are You” asks many hard questions in a unique and powerful way that really makes use of its digital medium.
“Where are You” is full of very striking imagery. From the chorus of legs accompanying a powerful monologue about grieving over a dead mother to still images of actors used as backgrounds, each image or shape creates the exact atmosphere that the play needs in any particular moment. In the same vein, the movement in this piece, often performed over dialogue but not always, creates a similar atmosphere of grief and loss but also uncertainty. We can see through each movement that these people are looking for answers about just what lies beyond this life.
“Where Are You” draws from all aspects of death. And while it mostly centers on the personal, often drawing from real personal accounts, it also explores the political aspects of death very effectively. From the Australian wildfires, to the death of George Floyd, to the Corona Virus, “Where Are You” takes the ideas of death that it’s presented and places them on these more complex political moments. How do these moments affect the world? How do they affect the actors? How do they change how we experience death? In a particularly powerful moment, we see a montage of news coverage and Instagram posts about all of the terrible things that have resulted in death over the last year. It’s overwhelming. But necessary.
One of the most powerful moments of the show comes from a monologue about halfway through in which an actor discusses how he has dealt with the passing of his mother. The piece is incredibly well written, balancing humor, heart, and grief beautifully and honestly. I am not sure if this was one of the stories that was taken from a real-life account, but if not, it feels like it could have been.
The piece comes to a head at the end with an incredibly moving moment in which the actors begin listing people who have died. “Everyone has or will die” they say before going into a list that covers everyone from Aristotle to David Bowie. The audience is also invited to put the name of their passed loved ones in the chat and what follows is a beautiful and cathartic moment of remembrance and celebration.
“Where Are You’ ends with a poem about our lives since COVID-19 began, presented over images of the actors outside alone. We feel the isolation of both ourselves and those in the piece but we are also given…hope. We are told that flowers still bloom and that we must carry on. And while the very well-written poem had me tearing up, I left the piece with more hope than when I entered it. And that’s how this piece feels, hopeful. Honor those who have passed and enjoy your life while you live it. “Where Are You” asks a lot of complicated questions about death and life and doesn’t claim to know the answers. But after viewing, you will certainly feel readier to go looking for them.
“Where Are You?” was produces through Mabou Mines and devised, directed & choreographed by Sim Yan Ying "YY"
Featuring: Ao Lan Guo, Brendan Schwartz, John Titus, Guillermo Contreras, Rosalie Neal, Maria Müller
Dramaturgy by Carina Goebelbecker, Manuela Romero, Siena Yusi
Multimedia Design by Manuela Romero
Sound Design by Caroline Eng
Publicity Design by Justina Yam
Assistant Choreography by Carina Goebelbecker
Stage Management by Siena Yusi