SALT LAKE CITY — The Timekeeper’s Collection (written by Marie Kynd) is a concise play lasting about 30 minutes where — despite the run time — the story, world and characters feel fleshed out.
Show closes August 6, 2023.
The play opens with Avalon (played by Dakota James) enters what appears to be an antique shop, but where all the items hold memories of their former owners. The shop is managed by Jamie (played by Brittnie Eliason), and she gradually walks Avalon through how the store, and its items, work. They end up selecting several items, and Avalon is sent back in time to view several events as they pertain to each object.
The Timekeeper’s Collection feels more like a fully mounted local production than a Fringe show, especially the set design. With each new memory came a new furniture arrangements, and the audience never sees the same set twice (except when the action returns to the store). The blasts into the past are punctuated with eerie ghost whispers that are beyond fitting, especially because the memories are from the early to mid-20th century. Even just touching the items provokes the whispers, marking a time traveling experience.
There is also the great use of lighting. For example, when three suffragettes are at home, frustrated by their status in society, there is an aggressive knock at the door by the police, which red light floods the space as the women try to figure out how to respond.
The only unfinished part of the play is that Avalon can interact with the past, but this is not explained Jaime, and the script never addresses this phenomenon, what it means for the timekeeper, or the potential issue of interfering with past events/persons (a common plot point in time travel stories).
Overall, The Timekeeper’s Collection still feels pretty close to perfect and is both an innovative speculative play and a real treat at the Great Salt Lake Fringe Festival.
These reviews are made possible by a grant from the Salt Lake County Zoo, Arts, and Parks program.
