Have I No Mouth – Location, Tickets, Reviews
A real-life mother and son unravel and re-build following a shared tragedy in Have I No Mouth, by Irish theater company Brokentalkers, appearing in New York City through January 26, 2014 as part of COIL14. The show received much acclaim in its previous run in Ireland. It was awarded the Total Theatre award for Innovation, Experimentation, and Playing with Form at the 2013 Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Feidlim Cannon, Brokentalkers’ co-founder, enlisted his non-actor mother, Ann Cannon, and a real-life psychotherapist to create Have I No Mouth as a way to heal after his father/Ann’s husband died an unexpected and likely preventable death in 2001. Framed as a therapy session, Feidlim and Ann revisit their past, examine their relationship, and scrutinize with the concept of death in the shadow of their very real loss. They do so through a series of abstract scenes that depict their memories, fantasies, and emotions using a variety of visual aids and innovative staging methods.
When the audience walks into the venue, each person receives a balloon that comes in handy about halfway through the show. Through this audience participation and engagement, this personal story and the Cannons’ path to recovery extend beyond their own narrative to the audience, emphasizing the universality of these themes.
Maxamoo
Have I No Mouth is a brave and strikingly candid show. Feidlim and Ann don’t shy away from touching on painful subjects. The visual imagery, carefully chosen words, and soft and humorous demeanor prevent this touching story from becoming melodramatic or cliché. The audience participation elements highlight that while it’s a very personal story, we all have struggles to bear. We, the audience, are active members in this therapy session, and it aims to benefit us as much as it does the Cannon family.
Throughout the performance, the two emphasize that the main theme of the show is healing rather than memory or grief. This choice fosters a sense of redemption and catharsis by the end. Indeed, it is not a show about healing, it is a show that is a part of the healing — and as such, it is heart-breaking and optimistic all at the same time.
Public Opinion
The audience seemed very enthusiastic, and the performers were awarded a standing ovation at the end. There was one elderly woman who was so baffled that she asked us at the end if it were based on a true story, what it was about, and what happened to the father in the story, but we suspect it reflects more on her than the show.
From Twitter:
@tenaralorien: EVERYONE GO SEE HAVE I NO MOUTH AT THE BARYSHNIKOV CENTER. #openlyweeping #sobeautiful ; @aria_muse: If you want challenging, wonderful theater, go see @Brokentalkers Have I No Mouth #COIL14 – LOVED it in Edinburgh 
Have you seen Have I No Mouth and want to share your thoughts? Comment below or tweet us at @maxamoo.
Critics Review
The piece is extremely personal in a generous way, as the moments shared with us ask universal questions about responsibility, loss, death, and family
Exeunt
It’s disconcerting and deeply moving all at once.
TheaterMania
In the end, Have I No Mouth feels more like a workshop piece than a finished product. There’s potential here, but you have to bake the cake before you can frost it.
TICKETS
$25 (click here for tickets)
DATES
Performances through January 26, 2014
LOCATION
Baryshnikov Arts Center
450 West 37th Street
New York City
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RUNNING TIME
1 hour 10 minutes, no intermission
CAST & CREW
(partial list)
Written and directed by Feidlim Cannon and Gary keegan
Featuring Feidlim Cannon, Ann Cannon, Erich Keller