An emotive show that genuinely innovates in the storytelling space
OommoO is a strangely formless word to say, with each letter sliding into the next. Similarly, Lula Mebrahtu’s dreamlike mix of music, monologue and technology struggles to hold its shape long enough to form something meaningful. The OommoO of the title stands for ‘One of Many, Many of One’, centreing the first-generation immigrant experience at its core. Unfortunately, as a performance OommoO lacks the meaning-making which ties everything together, and therefore fails to connect fully with its audience.
There is definitely some great multimedia storytelling here: a seemingly incomprehensible lyrical transition suddenly makes sense when the audience is taught to say “my name is” in a Habesha language; a digital image of civil war zooms in endlessly, revealing new horrors hidden in the background; and a highly emotive monologue evokes the pain of watching a dementia-ridden parent. But these flashes of brilliance are interspersed with pleasant-enough but inconsequential musical interludes, and hard-to-follow sequences (such as an extended game where Mebrahtu tries to catch an invisible ball), sapping the audience’s engagement.
Mebrahtu herself is an endearing host, clearly enjoying the performance and speaking from the heart. She takes childlike pleasure in the show’s other star: the wearable tech MiMu gloves which can be used to control the music, lighting and images with simple gesture. Although initially fascinating, with the audience trying to work out which movements cause which effect, this quickly wears thin, and some sections of the show end up feeling more like a tech demo than a fully-fledged production. This is not helped by several technical hitches, leaving Mebrahtu visibly frustrated.
The result is a show that genuinely innovates in the storytelling space, but perhaps at the expense of the story itself. And whilst there are moments of brilliance here, there is too much getting in the way to fully recommend OommoO as an experience.