Play reveals the secrets we think we can’t share
Post Secret (out of 4) Written by Kahlil Ashanti, TJ Dawe, Justin Sudds, and Frank Warren. Directed by TJ Dawe. Until May 8 at the Panasonic Theatre, 651 Yonge Street. Mirvish.com or 416-872-1212.
13345 Copper Ridge Rd., Germantown, Md., is a very famous address. It’s written on over one million postcards made in the last 12 years. And for a lot of people, it’s been the catalyst for better mental health and personal growth.
It’s also the former home of Frank Warren, the creator of PostSecret.com — a website he created in 2004 that publishes a batch of new postcards every week, each with an anonymous secret the sender has never told anyone else.
Over its lifetime, really taking off with the advent of social media, the site has exploded in viewership internationally (at the time of this writing, the viewer count i s at 753,452,435) and resulted in six published books, an exhibit at the Smithsonian and worldwide speaking engagements for Warren, who now lives in Southern California. There are even apparently discussions with Bryan Cranston about a TV series, as Warren told the opening night crowd of PostSecret, the show, in Toronto on Tuesday night.
The live play of PostSecret curates a selection of secrets that Warren has received through recorded voiceovers, animated projections and performances by actors TJ Dawe, who also directs, Kerry Ipema and Abby Rowold.
The sections form into quasi-themes — the holidays, lies we tell children or we believed as children, abusive relationships, depression, faith or just gross confessions about bodily functions (there’s a lot of that) — that ultimately serve the purpose of both the play and the website, that no one is alone or unique in the things we feel we can’t share.
With a tracking score of acoustic guitar played by Elyadeen Brickman, more than a few audience members were in tears.
PostSecret virtually has a restraining order against any speck of cynicism from coming within the vicinity of the Panasonic Theatre. Warren’s project is a very earnest dive into the universality of small details, the shared burden of misplaced shame and the interconnectedness of the human experience.
Even if you’re unfamiliar with PostSecret.com, as this reviewer was, it’s surprising to have your own secrets triggered by handmade postcards displayed on a screen; it’s possible that skeptics may be drawn into the project’s appeal by the end of the production’s two-hour runtime.
There is a markedly different vibe amongst the audience of PostSecret than the average play, with superfans of the site forming their own kind of secret club and shouting out at the secrets they reciprocate. This continues at the kickoff of the second act, where the actors read out secrets submitted by the audience in a mailbox in the lobby. This particular audience revealed some intense histories with rape, self-harm and depression, and some lighter obsessions with flatulence.
With Dawe’s direction, known for his stripped-down solo shows on the Fringe circuits, the PostSecret play has a disarming casualness to it, breaking down the fourth wall and highlighted with simple theatrical elements.
There are times it might feel like an elaborate group therapy session; your enjoyment of the experience will depend on your willingness to share with the group.
Warren’s project is a very earnest dive into the universality of small details and the shared burden of misplaced shame