By Kathryn Olsen
The Hive Collaborative, a relatively new presence on Provo’s arts scene, is masterfully presenting the world premiere of Bo Wilson’s The Bookbinder’s Tale this autumn. It is an original script chosen from hundreds of submissions for performance and features a three-person cast with the personality of dozens. Producer Dennis Agle says of the project that it reminds the audience that “we all have stories within us, and…it is up to us to write them.” Director Diedre Celeste Miranda adds that “story is a place that offers refuge from the real world” and encourages us to “untether yourself and enjoy this intimate tale of life.” The premise is fairly straightforward: Mina, the fiancée of a professor of literary criticism, Rupert, is frustrated when her first class as a teacher has only one student enrolled. Said student, Paolo, refuses her offer to let him withdraw and they engage in a personal educational interaction. Mina and Paolo explore the empowering themes of folklore in relating their own histories, but tensions mount as Mina discovers in her conversations with Paolo some deep-seated insecurities regarding her relationship with Rupert. I, myself, am a writer whose published works largely center around reinventions of classic tales, so looked forward to seeing the way that folklore informs real life in this play.
No one member of the cast is more important than the others, but the story hinges on the quest for purpose that Mina (Maria Bowles) embarks upon. Act I is full of tales, reenacted histrionically and hysterically by the players, but ends on a paradigm-shifting statement from the leading lady: “Once upon a time, there was a girl who did not wish to be doomed.” The entire play, then, must address what she feels is her own hamartia and what she can do to reclaim her narrative. Bowles shifts quite naturally between a person who is struggling with a bit of Impostor Syndrome and the person who is at home in the stories she tells. We can all relate to her nerves in anticipation of a new experience or inability to articulate complicated personal problems.
Her fiancé Rupert (Benjamin Hyde) is played as what the actor describes as a “dry, dusty, academic tome.” Hyde is the voice of pragmatism and initially seems to be more of a pedantic killjoy than a good influence, but his words of wisdom contribute to the most important lessons learned in the play. During his tales, Hyde occasionally slips into a quasi-British accent, which unleashes his inner poet and allows him the grandstanding and ambitions that we never see when he is explaining the politics of academic circles to his frustrated fiancée. He reminds me of Atticus Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird, who is thought of by some as a dreadfully ordinary man, but who has marvelous and hidden characteristics.
The eponymous bookbinder is artisan-in-residence Paolo, played flamboyantly by Jonathan Fifield. If we were reduce character motivations to a single word, he would embody “fulfillment.” Whether spinning a fanciful story about a self-conscious bunch of grapes so Mina and Rupert appreciate a bottle of red wine or challenging Mina’s ideas for a fairy tale, he is constantly encouraging his fellow players to reach beyond what they have already accepted as a norm. He has many amusing lines, but some of his most stellar moments are in the understated asides that he interjects into the play.
The chemistry of this close-knit cast is marvelous. A great deal of amusement is caused when they break the fourth wall and occasionally clarify some plot point or upcoming scene. They show no qualms about educating the audience. Mina is definitely reliant on “once upon a time,” while Rupert’s lines often sound like excerpts from a textbook on love triangles and Paolo tells the sorts of flippant stories that seem to be somewhat embellished reality. Because the play is so intricate and well-characterized, the audience finds itself satisfied with the ending while unsure if they ever picked a side.
The set is cleverly done by Ken Agle and Madeline Ashton and her crew of artists, with hanging lamps made of books and bulbs, stairs and stage lined with more volumes of literature, and a multi-level stage within a stage for the purposes of telling the various tales. The lighting by Robert Murdock sets apart the scenes in the real world and the imaginary tangents, with the most passionate moments depicted in hues of smoldering red. The costumes by Anne-Marie McDaniel are ingenious, since each character remains in an ordinary outfit throughout both acts, but finds props ranging from a knit cap to a gauzy scarf to aid in their transformations.
The Hive Collaborative’s never-before-seen The Bookbinder’s Tale achieves its aims to provide a refuge from the real world and returns you to the rigors of life philosophically changed. Best of all, it is running from September 28 to October 27, so you have plenty of time to escape into this mixed reality.
The Hive Collaborative Presents The Bookbinder’s Tale, Written by Bo Wilson
The Hive, 591 S 300 W, Provo, UT 84601
September 28-October 27, 2018 7:30 PM
Tickets: $12-15
Contact: brothers@hivetix.com
The Hive Facebook Page
The Bookbinder’s Tale Facebook Event
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