Once on this Island

February 2018

Once on this Island 

Once on this Island. By Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty. Feb. 2018. Circle in the Square Theatre, New York.

Entering the theatre to see Once on this Island it is immediately apparent that this will be like nothing you have ever seen before. Not only are there a live chicken and goat wandering around on the sandy stage, but there is a pool of water at one of the exits and a C-can as a major part of the set. You are transported to an island, but not to the sanitized beach resorts that are the playground of the rich and famous, you are placed on the beaches that tourists don’t go to. Where people have been living their lives the same way for hundreds of years, and where stories are passed from generation to generation - not through books, but around campfires on starry nights.

  Once on this Island was a visceral experience, a play that had soul and seemed deeply connected to the islands that it was representing. It told a story of love from the perspective of the gods that challenged the notion of class structure. Especially between a conquering people and the “natives.” What I loved about this show was that it felt so human. It told a classic story of love, hate and class conflict, but focused on the joy and pain of the protagonist, a young woman who rises and falls with equal passion. This story is a classic myth that leaves you feeling more connected to the earth beneath your feet and the people around you.