No Blinding Light
Apples and Shoes @ Nexus Gallery
8:00pm, Sat 26 Feb 2011
As a forty-year-old, I reckon I’m on the upper cusp of people who live a large amount of their lives online. Since getting my first e-mail address in 1989, I’ve made plenty of persistent friendships all over the world, and I’ve even taken the opportunity to meet a lot of these people in real life. I truly believe that some of those relationships are as strong as my “local”, real-world friends.
Which makes No Blinding Light particularly poignant to me.
Phoebe Anne Taylor tells the tale of her relationship with an internet-only friend, and it’s a curious device – only being able to tell as much of the story as the other person allows you to see. There’s suicide attempts, a stillborn baby, and much more heartache – but the real power of the work comes when the friend dies, and her online persona gradually disappears.
The production’s fascination with apples and shoes is quirky, but not distractingly so, and accompanying guitarist Adrian Sergovic provides a gorgeous musical backdrop. He even adopts the role of the internet friend at times, and the looks between Phoebe and Adrian are sublime – providing brilliantly timed humour, mixed with a little bit of compassion.
I really enjoyed No Blinding Light – there was a real sense of understanding and compassion in what could so easily have devolved into a treacly, melancholic mess. That they handle the subject so sensitively is a credit to all involved.