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Walrus
4 stars (Out of 5)
Stage 5, Acacia Hall, 10433 83 Ave.
What happens when you move to a country to learn, in part, about that country and your attempts to learn about that country only reveal much more about other countries and, in fact, the way that your new adopted home has treated other countries through the years?
Much has been made over the years of institutions in Britain and ill-gotten exhibits, and whether the right thing to do is to return those exhibits to their countries of origin.
Kiana Wu puts a human face on this discussion in a well-crafted solo performance that traces her experience moving to the UK from Calgary and hoping to answer for herself some questions about her new home. Unfortunately, the places she looked are more chock full of artefacts from countries like Benin and Egypt and elsewhere.
And the old homes that people are able to visit through the National Land Trust (you have to pay to walk outside?) are full of examples of European orientalism that are stark reminders of outdated tropes and stereotypes.
And then, when she sees her own home country reflected in a gallery in her new home, it’s really taking the piss (literally and figuratively, to borrow some UK slang).
Wu’s frustration is clearly evident, but she never gets preachy, or hectoring with the audience. Her story beats are well thought out, and the bare set actually lets the viewer visualize each step in this journey.
It is certainly a thought-provoking peace and Wu is bright-eyed and an earnest and capable storyteller who brings you along for this ride and makes you wonder how legacies like this can continue.