REVIEW: Wish | Perth Theatre Co and Night Train Productions
Wish is extraordinary theatre. It is some of the finest storytelling you are likely to see this year, and it will leave a mark. Adapted by Humphrey Bower from the Peter Goldsworthy novel, Wish tells the story of a man who is asked to teach sign language to a rescued gorilla. This is, of course, a gross oversimplification of matters; the show is a virtual Pandora’s box of ideas, themes and conflicts, and any attempt to list them in the space of a few hundred words would be futile at best.
It’s one of those kinds of shows whose impact says more about you than about the show itself; that is to say, whatever you find most compelling, intriguing or confrontational about the piece could be very different to what the guy in the next seat over does. And it’s likely to offend some, challenge others, and confound a few. But even the skeptics will have trouble faulting Humphrey Bower’s power to draw an engrossing picture in gesture and words.