The UW department of theater and drama has taken a journey into a land of myth and fable with its latest production, “Ti-Jean and His Brothers,” which opens Friday in Hemsley Theater.
“Ti-Jean and his Brothers,” by Caribbean playwright David Walcott, is a West Indian fable about a group of three brothers who have to trick the devil into feeling human emotion in order to prevent the devil from eating them. Although it sounds like a children’s story, the play deals with concepts of oppressive governments and uprisings.
“The story itself is a metaphor for colonialism and imperialism,” said Patrick Reed, the actor who plays one of the brothers, named Mi-Jean.
The production should prove to be unique in several ways. The University of Wisconsin theater department produces many of its shows based in realism – a world apart from the mythical quality of Ti-Jean. The 13 cast members have worked a lot on their physicality and voices in order to portray characters like devils, crickets and fireflies. Chris Walker, an assistant professor for the UW dance department, was instrumental in this, along with the play’s director, David Furumoto.
Furumoto, UW’s director of theatre productions, specializes in Asian theatre. According to cast members, his background with Japanese dance and kabuki has helped the actors leave the constraints of their human personas and truly portray the essence of the folk tale.
“[Furumoto] brings kind of a really fun view to it. Since the show is about mythical things and very fantastical, he wants us to be really energetic and encourages us to break from realism,” said Mia Impearl, who plays the Snake Demon in the show.
In rehearsals, Reed added, the goal was to be “large,” “iconic” and “beyond belief.”
The production is not a musical, but there are a few folk songs and choreographed scenes woven into the storyline. This adds a sense of flow and rhythm to a fable already laden with a powerful sense of tradition and community.
Along with a very different style of acting, Impearl and Reed said they were blown away with the effort put into making the production’s set and costumes.
“Come to it for the beautiful, striking set, and the costumes are fantastic,” Reed said. “They focus on recycled materials.”
“The set is very much larger than life,” Impearl added. And true enough, it contains many vibrant colors and impressive whimsical structures.
According to Reed, “Ti-Jean and his Brothers” is truly a story of which the likes have not been seen in Madison in a long time and probably will not be performed again soon.
“It’s a folk story. It’s a community story. You don’t really experience it as often as you would in the past, people gathering around and hearing an allegory. You come to a sense of community,” he said.
Both Reed and Impearl encourage everybody – UW students and Madison community members alike – to view the show. Each audience member will relate to the story in a unique way. As a fable, “Ti-Jean and His Brothers” has a message for all audience members, but everyone in attendance will come away from the performance with his or her own idea of what that message is.
“I just think it’s a really great story. It’s very simple, but it has something special,” Impearl said.
“Ti-Jean and His Brothers” runs Oct 28 thru Nov 12. Tickets are $22 for adults and $15 for students. Children (under 18) are $15 and seniors (62+) are $20.To order tickets, go online at www.utmadison.com, visit either one of the box offices located at the Memorial Union or Vilas Hall or call (608) 265-2787.
