Daniel Kitson’s Analog.Ue: What does it all mean?
Most of the attention surrounding Daniel Kitson’s latest show, Analog.Ue, at St Ann’s Warehouse focused on the method of storytelling (prerecorded on tapes), rather than the story itself.
Now that the shock and disappointment of not hearing Kitson perform live and/or the awe and enthusiasm for Kitson’s proficiency with old-school tape recorders is wearing off, can we talk about the story?
The number of interpretations of Analog.Ue is nearly as great as the number of people who have seen the show. If you haven’t seen the show then you should stop reading here and quickly get tickets. The last performance is Saturday, December 21, 2013.
This is your one and only spoiler alert. Major plot points are described in detail below.
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To summarize, there are two principal story lines. The first, set in 1977, follows 80-year old Thomas Taplow as he sits in his garage recording his life story, including a few rules to live by that are absolute gems. He records his stories on a collection of tape recorders gifted to him by his beloved wife Gertie.
At the end of Thomas’s story something happens to Gertie. It is not stated explicitly but it is implied she either disappears or dies. Thomas calls for her, can’t find her, and becomes distraught.
The second story follows Trudy Livingston, born in 1977. When Trudy is eight years old she discovers one of Thomas’s tape recorders in a box containing items belonging to her late father. Trudy listens to the tape and hears Thomas wax poetically about life’s possibilities and declare his love for his wife who, it turns out, shares Trudy’s full name (Gertrude Amelia Livingston).
Trudy does not know the identity of the person whose voice she hears on the recording and she becomes obsessed with tracking him down. She haunts junk shops listening to found tapes, approaches old men at random, and takes a job at a call center. She does not otherwise make a lot of personal or professional progress in life and in 2012 she disappears.
The central mystery is: What is the connection between the two stories beyond Trudy finding and listening to the tape?
Several theories abound to explain the connection between Thomas, Gertie, and Trudy, including:
1. Time travel – Trudy and Gertie are the same person, traveling through time.
2. Reincarnation – Trudy is Gertie reincarnated.
3. Relatives – Gertie and Trudy’s father are related, explaining why Trudy and Gertie share a last name.
4. No connection – There is no familial connection between Gertie’s and Trudy’s families. Trudy’s father found and heard the tape and named his daughter after the name Thomas mentioned on the recording.
Got a different theory? A favorite theory? What critical facts did I omit? What did I get wrong? Even the venerable New York Times messed up a few of the details in this complicated story and had to revise and print a correction, so I’d be surprised if we have no disagreement on the “facts.”
H/T @mildlybitter and @ahab99 for the invigorating exchange that inspired this post. All errors are mine alone @lindsaybarenz.
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