I have to admit to never having read Herman Melville's acclaimed classic, 'Moby Dick', despite knowing the story. I have tried a couple of times, and discarded the novel after just a couple of chapters each time. This evening however, Grist To The Mill Productions promised to bring this novel to life on stage in the form of a 60 minute non-stop monologue.The stage was set with a piece of muslin-like material which, so arranged gave the impression of a hammock, a sail, and ingeniously the prow of a ship. A few wooden crates and a stool the only added extras.
Into this walked Ross Ericson - but we shall call him Ishmael.
The story was authentic, as was, I believe his accent, although at times he did speak either to quickly or indistinctly for me to catch everything he said sadly. I am assuming the vast majority of his text this evening was taken directly from the novel... it had that prose style about it.
Ericson obviously has a love of storytelling and of this story in particular, but between him and his director, Michelle Yim, they needed to find a little more variation in the dynamics of this story.... it is all there in the text, but only rarely came out in performance. I also had the feeling that Ericson was searching for his lines a couple of times this evening too. That being said however, if you did not know the story beforehand, then you certainly would now, and learn about the other characters that sailed the Pequod with him, such as Captain Ahab, Queequeg and Starbuck, and of the ferocious white whale who killed all but he.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 22.6.23
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