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| Poster image by Pip Runciman |
The Girl Who Glows.
Created by Zeeko (Jess Green, Jess Ciampa and David Hewitt) in collaboration with Jo Turner. Directed by Jo Turner. Designer Kathleen Kershaw. Sound designer Kimmo Vennonen. Lighting design Verity Hampson. Video design Laura Turner. Street One. The Street Theatre, July 18 – 21 2024. Bookings : www.thestreet.org.au World Premiere.
Reviewed by Peter Wilkins
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| Jess Green and Jess Ciampa in The Girl Who Glows |
Zeeko’s musical show about a young girl’s search for the light to hold back the darkness glows with endearing charm and simple wonder. The Girl Who Glows is delightful children’s theatre that holds young and old alike in awe. In an age when theatre for children is so often adaptations of children’s literature or action packed spectacle it is refreshing to experience musical trio Zeeko’s unpretentious socially conscious narrative that exudes charm and a serious message for today’s younger generation.
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| Jess Green, Luna and David Hewitt in The Girl Who Glows |
Performers Jess Green on Guitar, Jess Ciampa on various percussion instruments and David Hewitt on synthesizer in collaboration with director Jo Turner have created the simple story of Luna, a young girl who glows naturally but finds herself in a world of encroaching darkness in which the time between the light and the darkness appears to be contracting. The adults are too busy or too lackadaisical to seek a solution so Luna sets out on a journey to find the source of the light. It is a journey that will take her to the depths of the ocean with Mono Extreme, the rapping Platypus, to the dry hot heart of the country, home to the tortoise frog in search of a kiss to turn him into a prince and to the sky on the back of the migratory curlew to find her own tribe of people who glow.
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| Jess Green and Luna in The Girl Who Glows |
However, not even the luminescence of the throng of Krill or the electric brightness of the deadly jellyfish or the streamlined incandescence of the angler fish can reveal the source of the sun’s light under the sea or on earth. Nor can it be found in the heart of the desert land where oceans once exited. Nor is it on the back of a curlew battling the winds on its way to the northern hemisphere. Zeeko’s magical blend of musical virtuosity, melodic songs and comical characterization keeps the action moving but still the happy ending that David keeps asking for eludes them until the light dawns that collective connectivity may be the answer. It is only when the fourth wall is broken and the performers emerge through the darkness to seek the audience’s help to find the light that the moral of Luna’s quest can be discovered, Zeeko have found inspiration in Julia Baird’s book Phosphorescence in which she asks “How do we continue to glow when the lights turn out?” The Girl Who Glows is a delightfully conceived response to Baird’s solution “to look upwards and outwards at all times, caring for others, seeking wonder and stalking awe, every day to find the magic that will sustain us and fuel the light within our own phosphorescence."
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Zeeko - David Hewitt, Jess Green and Jess Ciampa |
Baird’s credo shines through The Girl Who Glows. At times the narrative loses its clarity as Jess leads
Luna on the search for the source of light and a happy ending. And yet young audience members had no trouble offering suggestions when asked to help.. “Spread the light” piped up one young voice. In their world of wonder, awe and imagination, Zeeko’s audience voice the answer to Baird’s conundrum. Performers Jess Green, Jess Ciampa and David Hewitt with director Jo Turner and creatives set designer Kathleen Kershaw, sound designer Kimmo Vennonen, lighting designer Verity Hampson and video designer Laura Turner have shone a light of hope for the future to their excited and enthusiastic audience. With its entertaining blend of comedy, music and song, The Girl That Glows is an ideal winter holiday treat for young and old alike.
Photos by Canberra Streets
