Playwright: Jessica Wilson
At: Redmoon Theatre at Redmoon Central,
1463 N. Hubbard
Phone: 312-850-8440
Runs through: Oct. 19
In 2007, an Australian artist by the single name of Stelarc transplanted some cells and succeeded in growing an ear right out of center of his forearm. As you might imagine, Stelarc's singular piece of performance art was both freakish and fascinating, a living example of Frankenstein science. A similar mix of science nonfiction, whimsy and horror surfaces in Redmoon Theatre's wondrous and disturbing Dr. Egg and the Man With No Ear.
The piece is the creation of another Australian artist, Jessica Wilson. Having wowed 'em at the Sydney Opera House, among other Aussie venues, Dr. Egg is getting its U.S. premiere under the co-direction of Wilson and Redmoon Artistic Director Jim Lasko. And what a premiere it is. This 60-minute fable is a glimmering, unsettling feat of extraordinary storytelling.
Based on a story by Catherine Fargher, The Man With No Ear incorporates a magician's sack of wonders within its stagecraft. Puppetry; stop-motion animation; and gorgeous, haunting original music combine in a concoction that's all but impossible to resist. The story is at once tragic and fanciful. Through an ingenious, seamless merger of animation ( amazing work by Jamie Clannett ) and live action, we meet a young man and his pregnant wife. She's balanced on the handlebars as he furiously pedals her to the hospital to deliver the baby.
The humorous, oddball mood twists abruptly when the man is attacked by a ferociously yapping little dog. The bicycle crashes, the wife is killed and the man loses an ear to the snarling pooch. But the baby—a daughter—survives, and eventually makes it her mission to replace her father's missing ear. Enter Dr. Egg, a begoggled scientist who specializes creating unlikely forms of hybrid. But as the daughter and her father are soon to learn, it's one thing to splice the genetic material of a tomato with that of a fish and quite another to try and grow an ear that doesn't come attached to a head.
Graeme Davis' extraordinary puppets depict the tragic mutations that result from Dr. Egg's genetic tinkering as grotesque, sad-eyed creatures floating in jars that serve as monstrous wombs. Davis' work is equally memorable in a dream sequence when the father is pursued by hundreds of disembodied ears flittering about like mutant butterflies.
Lara Golan's original music provides an ethereal, moody backdrop as it dips and diving between light-hearted and foreboding. Factor in performers Rebecca Mauldin as the devoted daughter, Brandon Boler as her brooding, single-eared father, Dominic Green as a hissing snake of a narrator and Adam Shalzi as the wild-eyed Dr. Egg, The Man With No Ear stands as one of Redmoon's finest efforts.