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Inspired by the work of renowned neurologist Oliver Sacks, who has lovingly and in very human terms recounted the stories of his patients and their afflictions in such books as The Man Who Mistook His Wife For A Hat, the team of Brook and Estienne—who both wrote and co-direct this production—have tackled the neurological disorder known as synesthesia, the bleeding together of senses so that one might hear colors or taste sounds. But you don't have to know much about axons, dendrites, and synapses in order to be fully immersed in The Valley of Astonishment, as we meet a man who overcomes a perceptual disconnect between his head and the rest of his body by teaching himself how to control his movements through eye contact. Or the artist who uses jazz music playing loudly in the background in order to see colors. More significantly, from a theatrical narrative perspective, we have the story of Sammy (the always exceptional Kathryn Hunter, who last year graced the same stage as Puck in the Julie Taymor production of A Midsummer Night's Dream). Sammy is a down-to-earth everywoman, though with a remarkable ability of total recall, a gift she takes for granted until it comes to the attention of a team of neurologists (kindly and supportive, modeled after the image we have of Dr. Sacks), who seek to study and understand how it is she can rattle off long lists of real or nonsense words and incredibly long strings of numbers after hearing them once. The thing about such a gift is, what do you do with it? In Sammy's case, she winds up in the hands of a talent agent, who helps her build a career around a memorist act. All seems to be going well, until Sammy discovers the downside to her ability. Unlike the rest of us, who occasionally struggle with remembering things, Sammy asks an even scarier question for which no one has an answer: "How do I forget?" Ms. Hunter plays Sammy in such a gentle and bemused fashion that the question that haunts her carries the play out of the realm of intellectual wonder by smacking us directly in the heart. This is the strength of the production as a whole as we meet a steady stream of characters portrayed by the actress and two equally excellent performing partners, Marcello Magni and Jared McNeill. They are joined by a pair of terrific musicians, Raphaël Chambouvet and Toshi Tsuchitori, each of whom gets a well-deserved turn at center stage. With a running time of 80 minutes, The Valley of Astonishment nourishes both mind and emotions in just the right proportion, giving us much to ponder (and perhaps to be grateful for) as we head out into the night.
The Valley of Astonishment
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