‘White Elephant’ @ Hip Pocket Theatre
Photos by John Carlisle Moore, Artwork by Lake Simons
—Jan Farrington
And a little elephant shall lead them.
Lake Simons’ and John Dyer’s summer show for Hip Pocket Theatre, White Elephant, is one of the more mysterious outings in their long-running annual series for HPT of works balanced between whimsy and profundity. It feels in some ways like reading a poem or hearing an intriguing story to which you haven’t been given the background, the “codes,” or the reference points needed to decipher what you’re seeing.
Thus, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea—but if you open yourself to the music and the artistic unexpectedness of it all (masks, 8mm film, ghost stories by flashlight), White Elephant repays 90 minutes’ worth of time with playful humor, sudden moments of insight, and a growing awareness of kinship with the varied beings on the stage (in this case, a stage indoors at the black box space of the Fort Worth Community Arts Center—a welcome refuge from the summer heat for the company, and for us).
Only through the experience of the play and its accumulated images—at first disconnected but then collecting as visual and musical patterns—does this almost-wordless work make emotional sense. A masked couple play chess and dance—where will this story go? A man (a postman?) wakes up and drags himself to his job each day—and each day is offered other paths for his life by hovering angels. He seems blind to their presence, but then….Where will his story take him? A child breaks a toy (a white elephant, in fact), and flies a kite in the park. A small white elephant rolls into view; an angel whispers in his (her?) ear, and pulls a white cloth from inside the elephant—a spirit? a soul? How does this link with the other stories we follow?
If this sounds a bit confusing, it is. Composer Dyer’s original music (performed by him onstage) is fragmented in a way that parallels our grasping at first one story and another—rasping guitar, sounds of keys jingling, the static of a mind-numbing workday, delicate airs following the flutter of fireflies (or butterflies?). We find themes for the characters whose fates we’re following—and rightly, Dyer finally brings things together with a bouncy, triumphant parade anthem full of joy (and whistles).
In the story-telling traditions of many cultures, white elephants are symbols of wisdom, kindness, and protection, often appearing to us as we dream or meditate. The white elephant’s appearance, says one writer, makes us feel grounded, connected, in touch with our “higher self.” In White Elephant, pale pachyderms of all shapes and sizes take the stage: giant cloth elephants, small wicker or paper mache elephants, a fast-moving man wearing an elephant head (his “trunk” bouncing like a spring to match his zany movements). And my favorite, a personable knee-high puppet who bounces happily, pauses to give a look to the audience, bows to the composer-musician. These are the creations of puppeteer Lake Simons, each one holding our attention in their comings and goings.
The cast is vital and engaging throughout. Watch, for instance, the detailed language of their movements—even doing something as simple as walking offstage. They are character-driven, detailed, dance-like at times. (Susan Austin’s silky, neutral-toned costumes anchor the look of the show, lit in theatrical dark/light contrasts by Nikki DeShea Smith.) Performers are: Frieda Austin, Marcos Barron, Jozy Camp, Allen Dean, Aaron Knowles Dias, Cy Dyer, Ron Fernandez Jr., Shelby Griffin, and Paul Heyduck. It’s hard to mention only a few, but…Heyduck’s exhausted slouch as he heads for another work day…Dias’ final, glowing facial transformation from sadness to joy…Dyer’s beautifully solemn face as the child who takes her play quite seriously…Barron’s graceful concentration on the small lit creature he carries…Griffin’s intense angles of head and body as she yearns for one who’s no longer there…Austin’s shift from clown-like playfulness to fist-clenched mourning as her small playmates fall to earth.
It’s all (as I said before) quite mysterious, deeply human, full of elephants—and needs to be seen, not explained. While indoors, HPT is recreating it’s “back yard” atmosphere with pre- and post-show music, different every night.
WHEN: July 28-August 20, 2023
WHERE: Sanders Theater, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, 1300 Gendy St., Fort Worth
WEB: hippocket.org
