Hear a Story
Watch a Story
Theatre Pick
The Master of the Story
By Alexander Stevens
North Shore Sunday
Storyteller Jay O'Callahan is up to his old tricks, once again riveting audiences with the aid of nothing more than a chair, a glass of water, and the perfect word, perfectly delivered. This time it's a new work, "Tell Them," now playing at the Gloucester Stage Company. The characters, message and tone of the story may have changed from the last time O'Callahan was in Gloucester delivering his tour de force "The Dance," but the man, his method and his magic are the same.
"Tell Them" is based on the true story of Richard Wheeler, who kayaked about 1,500 miles from Nova Scotia to Cape Cod. The journey started as an attempt to recreate the migratory path of the Great Auk, the legendary fisher bird that after 50 million years on this planet was literally beaten into extinction by profit-hungry hunters. But the adventure became a spiritual awakening for Wheeler, as he saw first hand the slow death of the ocean.
O'Callahan wisely starts by magnificently recreating the majesty of the Great Auk, and thereby making us feel the tragedy of its loss. He hooks us with a roaring, mesmerizing description of it as a bird that could dive tremendous depths and skillfully fly [under] the seas in search of fish.
O'Callahan also captures the physical rigors of the trip, particularly the first leg of Wheeler's journey - a harrowing 40-mile trek through 12-foot seas in a 17 foot kayak. By the time this segment is over, you'll share the ache in Wheeler's muscles, legs and arms.
As Wheeler paddles down the coastline, he meets a hospitable assortment of fishermen who have heard about his trip, admire it, and welcome him into their homes. They take that chance to tell him their personal,up-close views of the death of the fishing industry, and the problem with regulations that allow them to catch immature fish. "Tell Them" becomes the refrain of the fishermen, who know that Wheeler will be able to use his new celebrity to send a message.
Of course, it works. The beautiful symmetry of "Tell Them" is that as we sit in the theater listening to O'Callahan, we are fulfilling the prophecies of the fishermen. As O'Callahan observes, we, the audience, are "them."
O'Callahan's grand performance hits the core of the theatrical experience, a core that sometimes gets obscured by the accouterment of the stage. His technique is lean and honed. One of his stories should be required viewing for students at every serious college theater program, because O'Callahan captures something elemental about the theater.
Wheeler was wise to hunt down O'Callahan, and ask the storyteller to create a tale based on his journey. Although PBS'S "Nova" documented his adventure, Wheeler knew only an artist could take his story out of the realm of the educational or sensational, and invest it with a vital emotional energy. Intellectually, we all bemoan the slow death of the ocean, but it's not until we feel it in our bones that we'll do something about it. O'Callahan brings the tragedy off the chilly Northern Atlantic seas, into our theaters, into our lives.
On the Gloucester stage, O'Callahan begins the evening with two other ocean-oriented tales - "The Magic Mortar," a Japanese folk talk, and "The Herring Shed," the story that inspired Wheeler to contact O'Callahan. But these are merely warm-ups for the wonder and spectacle of "Tell Them."
May 11, 1997
Reprinted from North Shore Sunday, Community Newspaper Company.
Reprinted by permission.