Fringe, Reviewed: Paradox
Please note: This article is published as an archive copy from Philadelphia City Paper. My City Paper is not affiliated with Philadelphia City Paper. Philadelphia City Paper was an alternative weekly newspaper in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The last edition was published on October 8, 2015.
"There's a lot here to puzzle over."
[ multimedia ]
Paradox, by Ziya
Attended: Sept. 18, show closed
A multimedia production that incorporates music, stories, artistic demonstrations, photos, multimedia, and sensory experiences to tell the profound story of a South African family who discovered hope in a hopeless place.
WE THINK:
When you go to a show like Paradox, you expect that you’ll be moved, made to think, made to question your views. This much is expected, and you get that out of this multimedia performance.
But perhaps you don’t expect to, say, be treated to a 90-minute PSA about a South African immigrant family’s struggles to raise their three children with varying issues related to brain damage. Or that these children will be on stage with their parents, one of whom is the composer of the production’s admittedly gorgeous adult contemporary-style pop music, as someone interviews the parents about their children’s struggles while the children are there. Or that the show will be a benefit for an ambiguously-defined fund for supporting parents whose children are going through similar things. Or that they will talk a lot about how they were helped by The Institutes for the Achievement of Human Potential, a neurological development center whose credibility has been repeatedly questioned by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
If you can set aside the strangeness that inevitably rises with such strong and visceral displays of emotion -- which, in performance-based contexts, are always at least a little awkward -- then an otherwise heartwarming story about a family’s relatable triumph over inner turmoil is worth celebrating. So is Ziya’s music, her agile vocals narrating catharsis-inducing views into these children’s lives, brought to life with maybe the tightest band at any of the smaller Fringe shows this year. Her family’s passion is clear, and their bravery in being so vulnerable is admirable.
But there’s a lot here to puzzle over. This show will pull on your heartstrings with little concern for subtlety and make you question your intense emotions (which, for this reviewer, was one of discomfort) in ways that aren’t necessarily important for understanding the art. Paradox does not have a repeat performance during this Fringe season, but if Ziya’s family is lucky enough to stage another performance here and raise more money for this benevolent cause, then Paradox might be worth taking in with a massive grain of salt.
