Oh My Heart indeed. A great story well-told is always going to get my attention, but this new show from Casey Jay Andrews is utterly captivating. It’s the tale of Freddie and her grandfather, who has lived in an old house for what seems like forever, far away from light pollution, and perfect for observing the once-in-thirty-three-year event of the Leonids, a meteor storm (much bigger than a shower) from the comet Tempel-Tuttle.
Andrews tells us the story in words and pictures: the latter coming through a projector that pushes moving images to a doll’s house in front of the audience. There are old news stories, family video footage of kids playing and laughing, and a starfield that fills the sky above the house. It’s initially closed, but as the story opens up, so does a new room in the house, lit by tiny bulbs.
And then there’s Jack Brett’s music, performed live (co-composed with George Jennings) – gentle electronica and falsetto vocals balance the silence beneath the stars and meteor storm.
Stars out of five? As many as there are in the sky.