Octopus’s Garden is certainly imaginative and heartfelt. But it is the lighting design (by Karyn Lawrence) that takes center stage as the most exact and expressive main character in this tale about humanity vs cephalopod sentience.
Notwithstanding puppet extraordinaire Emory Royston’s re-creation of a deep, red-colored, Pacific molluscan’s bilateral symmetry. This original play written by Weston Gaylord poses a host of yet unanswerable questions in its science/discovery/ethics/morality exploration. Mostly, Octopus’s Garden is the dilemma about, what happens next, when another being surpasses humankind. Which on one hand is understandably scary, but on the other, also filled with potential.
And, of course the flawless performances of counter-opinionated marine biologists Tara (Kacie Rogers) and Lars (Tim Cummings), along with struggling composer, Lucas (Vincent R. Williams), who discover that an octopus living in a lab tank has written the most transcendent piece of music ever heard. (We never hear the music. But that was a firm decision by the playwright, a composer himself. And truly, making the sound tangible would have put a full-stop on the whole creative process.)
With the revelation however, comes disruption. Their worlds begin to unravel. It becomes a battle of preservation and destruction. A struggle to understand this evolution and what to do with it. And, a clash about scientific morality around respecting the natural process of another living being and her intelligence. For the gentle creature living in the tank, it may even be simpler. A cry, to just go home.
This story’s concept is not particularly about “home”. Much of it points to metaphor for A.I. and what not. But the feeling is there. Especially when Sylvia (the octopus) begins to show signs of wanting to be free to do so. Making the destination for each character, including Sylvia, an existential place as much s a real one. Or more to the point, re-centering themselves in the face of an unprecedented phenomenon.
Both scientists and the composer now know, with certainty, and evidence, that there really is something out there that truly is greater. They each understand the power of the unbelievably humanity-changing and potentially “ending” experience. And that not everyone is necessarily ready for it.
But, somehow all four beings find their place in the Universe once more after bumping up against the unknown and the unimaginable. The humans manage to do something most humans cannot. And it is Sylvia who tells them why.
The play refers to itself as a fable. And one could heartily agree, simply because of the restraint and limitations all the (human) Octopus’s Garden characters put on themselves. Especially in the dilemma of unleashing the extraordinary into the zeitgeist of human consciousness.
For that reason, alone, the humans fall into, a sort of hero’s journey. While their wondrous Enteroctopus Dofleini continues on to just “be”, in all her glory, and all to herself.
Recommended.
Copyright © 2026 GiaOnTheMove.com. All Rights Reserved.
OCTOPUS’S GARDEN
FEB 26-MAR 29, 2026 – TICKETS
A World Premiere Co-Production with Circle X Theatre Co. and Outside In Theatre
Written by Weston Gaylord. Directed by Jessica Kubzansky.
Starring: Kacie Rogers, Tim Cummings, Vincent R. Williams. And Puppeteers: Zachary Bones, Perry Daniel, & Danielle McPhaul as Sylvia the Octopus.
CREATIVE TEAM
Puppet Designer/Puppetry Director: Emory Royston.
Set Designer: François-Pierre Couture.
Lighting Designer: Karyn Lawrence.
Sound Design and Original Compositions by: Noel Nichols and UptownWorks.
Costume Designer: Wendell Carmichael.
Props Designer: Nicole Bernardini.
Dramaturg: Jen Kays.
Stage Manager: Kat Haan.
Assistant Director: Melissa Coleman-Reed.
Assistant Stage Manager: Yaesol Jong.
Intimacy Consultant: Elizabeth Rainey.
Sound Board Operator: Jonas Huffer.
Casting Director: Victoria Hoffman.
Photo by Brian Hashimoto: OCTOPUS’S GARDEN Puppeteers Zachary Bones, Perry Daniel and Danielle McPhall as Sylvia, the octopus.
Source link
