At Luminato, Ian Kamau channels his sadness in ‘Loss’

Loss

Written by Ian Kamau and Roger McTair, with music by Bruce A. Russell and film by Tiffany Hsiung. Until June 18 at Harbourfront Centre Theatre, 231 Queens Quay W. luminatofestival.com or 416-366-7723

There are no simple solutions to alleviating grief, sadness and depression.

No wonder artist Ian Kamau uses a variety of artistic techniques in “Loss,” a searching and at times frustrating performance piece about unspoken trauma in his family and, by extension, other Afro-Caribbean communities.

At the outset of the 90-minute show (which ends its brief run on Sunday), Kamau tells us that in the winter of 2011 he “got sad.”

He had recently lost his job, broken up with his girlfriend and had to enlist the help of his parents to pay his rent. But did these events cause his sadness? Or was there something deeper at play? Perhaps it had to do with the death of his paternal grandmother, Nora, whom nobody talked about.

Kamau co-wrote “Loss” with his father, Roger McTair, and Kamau’s readings of five of his father’s poems contribute to the show’s melancholic, mysterious feel.

The warm, welcoming presentation of “Loss” encourages openness and transparency.

Kamau, dressed casually, holds a mic and sits on a stool to read from his script; he’s surrounded onstage by a circle of audience members. There are also audiences in risers on either short end of the narrow Harbourfront Centre Theatre and in two rows of balconies above. In other words, there is nowhere for Kamau to hide.

Gradually, a few people in the circle — pianist, synth-player and composer Bruce A. Russell, tenor saxophonist Dennis Passley and guitarist Dyheim Stewart — join Kamau in the playing area. Their contributions, as well as haunting film segments by Tiffany Hsiung and warm lighting changes by Shawn Henry, add texture to the performance.

The lack of a director results in a show that can feel aimless. Some of the videotaped interview segments, including a discussion with McTair, don’t seem to have a point. Kamau delivers his stories in a rather monotone delivery, with little shape or momentum.

However, hidden among the stories are powerful moments. A montage of Black victims of police violence hits with real force. Kamau’s simple statement, “I’m a man, how can I say I’m sad?” says a lot about societal views on masculinity and vulnerability. The image of an older Black man having his beard trimmed brims with empathy and love.

And when the writer/performer sings a song in the final section, a lot of the emotion and pain hidden in Kamau’s family’s story comes through. It’s at times like this that “Loss” finds its theatrical self.

SHARE: