Riverside Theatre | 2004
by Steven Dietz
Still Life with Iris is a fantastical adventure which centers on a little girl's search for the simplest of things: home. Iris lives with her mom in the land of Nocturno—a magical place in which the workers make, by night, all of the things we see in the world by day. Also, in Nocturno, memories do not reside in people's minds but instead are kept in their coats (called 'Past Coats'). The rulers of Nocturno, the Great Goods, are determined to have the "best" of everything on their island—and therefore take Iris away from her home and bring her to Great Island to be their daughter. To ease the pain of this separation, they remove her Past Coat, leaving her with no memory of her home or her family. All that remains of Iris' past is a single button from her coat. Using the button as a clue, Iris joins with friends she meets on her journey—Annabel Lee (a young woman from the sea) and Mozart (the composer, age 11)—and frees herself from the Great Goods.
“Director Kristin Horton keeps the action moving and the suspense building. In a world where electronic games and viceos dominate the free time and minds of many youngsters, a live play such as this is proof that entertainment are available besides the canned variety on a small screen. “Still Life With Iris” is a children’s play, but ia has much to offer the adults who come along. “ – Cedar Rapids Gazette