BlueSky post: MN Fringe show #31: Curly Hair Boy - delightful surprise, tale of boy with ability to heal and communicate with nature on quest to rescue his 2 older sisters; 3 perform entirely in Nepalese, a 4th gives English introduction then joins others; sweet, whimsical - 5 stars
"Curly Hair Boy" also came off of a friend’s recommendation, as he and his son had seen the show and enjoyed it. If he hadn’t liked it, or thought I should put it further down on my viewing list, he would have warned me (he did so with another show I was curious about in the same conversation that he’d also attended earlier that day.). So I went in expecting good things and I was not disappointed. This show was delightful.
It was also surprising because I wasn’t aware until the show began that it would be performed almost entirely in the Nepalese language. One of the four performers did a brief English introduction explaining this, and then each time he appeared as one of his characters thereafter, he would throw in a few English words here and there, but that was about it. The introduction also included an explanation of who the main characters were, so we knew how the story would begin.
It was fascinating to watch a story in a different language, because it caused me to pay closer attention to the interactions between the people onstage - body language, facial expressions and tone of voice, among other things. And it was enough to follow this simple story of a young boy on a quest to save his older sisters.
The introduction tells us that this young boy has magical powers and that he can converse with all of nature, animals and plants alike. Among his powers are that his hair can be used to aid in the healing process of other living things.
At the start, the young boy is playing while his two sisters work their looms to create woven goods. They take time out to play with him, however, using their colorful yarn to create patterns across the theater space. The bilingual actor who also speaks English soon appears and though he is laughing, the ominous drumming sounds that accompany him are soon proven to be a sign. He is angry that the two sisters have not created more finished product for him to take away and sell. So he decides to kidnap them and take them to his place, where he can sequester them and force them to work harder. The young boy tries to intervene but he is beaten down by the older man.
Abandoned, the despondent boy is soon joined by a lovely butterfly puppet, operated by the actor who played the older sister. The butterfly lifts his spirits, until a wasp puppet, operated by the actor playing the younger sister, pursues and corners the butterfly. The young boy defends the butterfly against the wasp, injuring the wasp in the process, but then he uses his hair to heal it and gains another ally. This continues as he journeys through a forest, created with repurposed parts of his childhood home, getting clues as to wear to find his sisters, and skills for the battle ahead of him against the laughing man. He runs across a majestic bird, a hiker, a couple of mischievous hedgehogs, and even a tiger. There’s great puppet and mask work throughout, and again, the story is very easy to follow, even though I’m not at all conversant in Nepali. The other three actors around the “boy” actor (actually an older member of the company) operate all the puppets in addition to their human roles.
The production is enchanting, with actors engaging across the language barrier directly with the audience via the use of the puppets and even creating our own colorful yarn pattern across the theater at the end.
There wasn’t a program and the show page on the Fringe website unfortunately doesn’t mention who plays what character. Everyone’s just listed as “Actor” and there are six actors listed, but only four in the play (five if you count the guest appearance of the tiger), which makes me think that perhaps the cast rotates performance to performance, based on availability. The listed actors are: Aruna Karki, Jenish Karmacharya, Rajan Khatiwada, Rejina Pokharel, Mani Ram Pokharel, Sonam Tshring Sherpa. Rajan Khatiwada is also listed as the director, and Mani Ram Pokharel is also listed as the Production Manager/Creative Director. The playwright is Rajan Mukarung. The theater company is Mandala Theatre-Nepal.
There was a small crowd in attendance when I was there (only seven people other than myself). The cast put on a great show for us, though we were tiny in number. It just meant we all got a bit more individual attention. It would be nice for them to have a couple of crowds where they can’t so easily attend to each audience member. "Curly Hair Boy" is a sweet, fun little family show and deserves to have more people see it. (The show closes Sunday.)
5 Stars - Very Highly Recommended
Here’s some handy links to coverage of 5 Star and 4.5 Star Shows I've Seen (VERY Highly Recommend), 4 Star and 3.5 Star Shows I've Seen (Highly Recommended), Other Shows I've Seen (3 Stars or Less), as well as my Fringe Top 10, Top 11 to 20 and Returning Favorites lists for this year, and all the coverage of this year’s Minnesota Fringe Festival.
As I’m sure many artists are, I find myself struggling with the idea of
just “taking time off” (what a luxury) and submerging myself in a whole
lot of theater for 11 days while the world is on fire so… I’m going to
put some phrases and links down here (and at the end of each post going
forward) and if you find yourself compelled to explore one or more of
them, so much the better. There’s a lot going on, and it can be easy to
get overwhelmed and tune out, but as Congresswoman Sarah McBride
recently said, “If everybody shows a little courage, nobody needs to be a
hero.” I freely admit this list and these links are hardly
exhaustive. It's just something to get started. Do what you can, where
you can, however you can. Let’s help one another get through this.
Contacting your elected officials about the issues that matter to you (and protesting as necessary)
Starvation in the Gaza Strip
Immigration raids around the United States
Ukraine fighting off invasion by Russia
Trans rights
Climate change action
Housing shortage and the unhoused
Reproductive Rights
Voting rights, and running for office
The courts, from the Supreme Court on down to the local level
Don’t forget to laugh - even gallows humor is still humor
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