The Northwestern College Theatre department will open the season this weekend with its first main stage show of the children’s play “Still Life with Iris.”
The play follows the story of a little girl named Iris who lives in a magical world called Nocturno. The people of this strange world work all night to make the things that the world uses during the day. The memories and personalities of each of the citizens of Nocturno are stitched into the coats they wear. If any part of a coat is damaged or hurt, its wearer could lose a part of his or her memory. Throughout the course of the play, Iris loses her coat and is forced to go on a journey of discovery in an attempt to find herself again and remember who she truly is.
Jonathan Sabo, Professor of Theatre and Speech at NW and the scenic designer for the show says: “Probably the biggest theme is ‘Who am I without my past or my memories?’ Because without those, [Iris] is nothing.” Iris faces this crisis of identity with very little to depend on and, at first, no one to share her journey with.
However, Iris is not alone for long. In her search for her past, she meets a variety of characters, including a lost Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, an imprisoned pirate and Great Goods, the infamous ruler of Nocturno itself.
Gerrit Wilford, a sophomore, plays the role of Grotto Good, the self-proclaimed king of Nocturno.
“Grotto is just crazy,” Wilford said. “It’s like Willy Wonka meets Captain Jack Sparrow meets Mad Hatter.”
Wilford says that the show will be “lots of laughs. It’s going be a really funny show but at the same time give a really quality message.”
“Still Life with Iris” is a play written for children’s theater, but, like many children’s plays, beneath the appeal for kids there are true themes that will resonate with people of all ages.
“The children will love this show,“ said sophomore Brianne Hassman, the stage manager for the play, “because there are characters that are really over-the-top and really funny. There are magical moments in the show, and kids will just love this kind of magical theatrical experience. Then older people will enjoy that but also get the deeper themes of the play. So I think it’s a great show for all ages.”
“Still Life with Iris” is approximately an hour long and plays in the R. Keith Allen Blackbox Theatre.
There are two performances for the public this weekend: one at 7 p.m. on Friday Sept. 27 and the other at 4 p.m. on Saturday Sept. 28.
The show will also be performed for children from school districts across Iowa every Tuesday and Thursday for seven weeks before closing on Nov. 7.
