Sulfur Bottom
8 / 10
I came to see Sulfur Bottom written by Rishi Varma and directed by Megumi Nakamura at The Theater Center fearing a sermon about how we Earth inhabitants are destroying the future with our unconscious lifestyles. But rather than coming away feeling guilty and possessing no ideas for corrective action, I can report that what I experienced was a living portrait of a family surviving existence on a choking planet while still reaching for joy, love, belonging and understanding of one another. The consciousness of these characters moves through all states – the unitary, the dream state, the mystical and the indescribable. All this through using broad strokes of time-travel, shape-shifting and symbols of transformation as illustrative vehicles. Rather than pulled by our ears to hard conclusions, the audience is gently held in revelatory visions.
