aurelia's oratorio.

I saw this wonderful little show--and by wonderful I mean filled with wonder--with Nicki a couple of weeks ago at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, but it's worth noting here and now. Created and directed by Victoria Thierrée Chaplin, daughter of Charlie Chaplin, and performed by his granddaughter Aurelia Thierrée, this surreal fantasy featured dance, mime, puppetry, acrobatics and simple yet breathtaking visual illusions--a kite flying a girl, a shadow casting a man, Aurelia performing a puppet show for an audience of puppets. My favorite bit as when a Yeti-like snow monster eats her leg--and she knits it right back (you have to see it).

There was no real linear plot or narrative--it floated along from one whimsical scenario to the next. I thought it was cool to see a show so simple yet so compelling in a one-industry town that invests hundreds of millions in over-the-top special effects. I felt like I was at a cabaret show in 1940's Paris. Seriously, it was like stepping into Children of Paradise.