Butterfly (Ramesh Meyyappan) Review by Eric Karoulla

Based on John Luther Long’s short story, Ramesh Meyyappan’s Butterfly brings to life a tale of love, loss, and grief.

Butterfly (Ashley Smith) is a kite maker who meets Nabokov (Ramesh Meyyappan) – author and notorious butterfly collector. He is a man who likes to collect pretty things and display them. They become lovers, and all seems to be going well. Unfortunately, one of Butterfly’s regular customers (Martin McCormick) has been showering her with lavish gifts in return for her kites decides to take his flirtation and interest in her one step further. Nabokov’s jealousy is thrown into the mix, and Butterfly is left all alone.

Set to a musical score by David Paul Jones, Meyyappan’s simple yet elegant physical gestures tell the story clearly. Straddling the line between physical theatre and dance, interactions between performers are very precise, while the elements of puppetry seem to be slightly clunkier. Nonetheless, the puppets are still effective where they have been used, and add to the horror of the delusions that Butterfly sinks into as a response to her grief.

Meanwhile, the set design recalls the style Dominic Hill has developed at the Citizens – the performers are never entirely off stage, and all the props and puppets they need are incorporated into their surroundings. For those who are familiar with the luxurious intensity of Puccini’s opera, Butterfly here might seem slightly pared back and stripped, but it is nonetheless powerful.