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conceived by Jacob Zimmer, directed by Jacob Zimmer and Ame Henderson

Small Wooden Shoe, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, Toronto

March 31-April 12, 2009

Dedicated to the Revolutions is the culmination of a project that Small Wooden Shoe has been developing since 2006.  It is a performance piece about the seven scientific revolutions that project-conceiver Jacob Zimmer’s high school science teacher claimed had changed the world.  These revolutions in chronological order are listed as Gutenberg, Copernican, Newtonian, Industrial, Darwinian, Nuclear and Information.  According to the press release six performers, all self-confessed non-experts in science, “attempt to understand how we got to this point in history and how to share what they’ve discovered with an audience” using whiteboards, video, songs and demonstrations.       

This could be intriguing or at least fun, but it turns out to be neither.  The point of having theatre people--namely, Frank Cox-O’Connell, Chad Dembski, Aimée Dawn Robinson, Erin Shields, Evan Webber and Jacob Zimmer--explain scientific points would seem to be to make science theatrically come alive.  In fact, the performers’ semi-improvised explanations filled with ums, ers, uhs and other verbal hesitations are painful to listen to and hardly compelling.  Most end in such pathetically weak conclusions as “So I thought that was interesting” or “So I thought that was nice.” 

Anyone expecting the sort of riveting lecture theatre of Rick Miller’s Bigger Than Jesus or the scientific debate of Michael Frayn’s Copenhagen should leave that hope behind.  The pacing is strictly start-and-stop and filled with longeurs.  Some demonstrations are fun, most notably the use of tin cans and wires to illustrate the internet and lighting designer Trevor Schwellnus’s recreation of look of light on earth in various times and places.  “I hope that helps,” says Cox-O’Connell at the end.  “Helps how?” one wonders.  Anyone even semiliterate in science will find the show a case of the blind leading the partially sighted.  The simple demonstrations of science on an average episode of Daily Planet are more fun and exciting than anything SWS can devise.

To make things worse a mistrust of science underlies the entire show.  Robinson rejects all of Darwin because she misunderstands his use of the word “races.”  The press release claims, “Small Wooden Shoe demonstrates the difficulty of demonstrating the effects of progress on our lives”.  In fact, all the show demonstrates are the inadequacies of the performers’ preparation.  The idea of progress is worth questioning but would be more effectively done by people who had actually mastered the history of science and had more than a quick look through Wikipedia and a vague anti-intellectual fear to go on.  

©Christopher Hoile

Note: A version of this review appeared in Eye Weekly 2009-04-02.

Photo: Erin Shields, Aimée Dawn Robinson and Chad Dembski. ©Trevor Schwellnus.