“Our Cosmic Dust offers a carefully orchestrated, gentle, and expansive take on grief and the universe.“
From playwright Michinari Ozawa, Our Cosmic Dust makes its English language debut this June at Park Theatre, translated by Susan Momoko Hingley. The piece tells the story of Shotoro, a young boy coming to terms with his fathers passing by searching for him in the stars. Making use of mixed media, puppetry, hand-drawn illustrations, and actors themselves, Our Cosmic Dust presents a piece with intricately layered elements of performance.
Shotoro (played by Hiroki Berrecloth) loves the stars. Growing up, his dad would talk to him endlessly about the galaxy and beyond. After his father’s passing, he asks his mom (Millie Hikasa) where his dad is and she decides, as a means to give her son a sense of closure, to tell him that he has become a star. This sets Shotoro off on a journey through the cosmos, followed by his concerned mom and various friends (Nina Bowers, Ian Hallard, and Hari Mackinnon) collected along the way. Through this journey we come across various ways to navigate grief and ideas surrounding what happens after we pass. This topic, which at first glance appears rather morbid, is handled with a tenderness that quiets its looming presence.
For those who have a hard time thinking about death and what might come after, Our Cosmic Dust offers a way to think about it without becoming consumed with fear. The language used, performance style, and overarching sense of wonder invites the audience to engage with ideas pertaining to death and the afterlife with an open mind and heart. While it is a heartbreaking piece nonetheless, there is a distinct and ever-present sense of hopefulness that gives the production a much-needed levity. This, coupled with its many moments of comic relief, makes Our Cosmic Dust a comfortable watch perhaps even for those who are in the grips of grieving. It might even offer some solace.
To speak too heavily on the use of puppetry and mixed media would spoil the many delights that await any prospective audience member. The extraordinary hand-drawn illustrations envelope the viewer into the production and truly transport the piece to infinity and beyond. Our Cosmic Dust’s gentle, almost child-like tone is elevated by the use of puppetry and youthful media. There have been few plays to grace the stage that utilize these mechanisms of production and performance in such a unique manner, in particular as a means of world-building.
If you’re in the mood to laugh, cry, and ponder, don’t miss Our Cosmic Dust at Park theatre, running until 5 July. Tickets are available here.