Itai Erdal has made a name for himself as a lighting designer, winning awards and acclaim for his work behind the scenes for many theatre companies.
When his mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer, Erdal began a journey that sent him down new artistic pathways.
The Chop Theatre is bringing Erdal's oneman show, How To Disappear Completely, to Burnaby March 7 to 10.
The show, which premiered at Vancouver's Chutzpah! festival in 2011, is onstage at the Shadbolt Centre for the Arts.
How to Disappear Completely began, unexpectedly, in September of 2000, when Erdal received a phone calling telling him that his mother, Mery Erdal, had been diagnosed with lung cancer and given only nine months to live.
Erdal, who had recently graduated from film school, moved back to Israel to spend every moment with his mother. During that time, he shot hours of film and hundreds of pictures, documenting her final months and the circumstances surrounding her death.
In How To Disappear Completely, Erdal uses this material, in combination with onstage lighting demonstrations, to support his storytelling abilities.
"There is no greater pain than having to say goodbye to a loved one," said Cory Philley, facility and event services coordinator at the Shadbolt, in a press release. "While this hurt and loss are present in Itai's work, he bravely chooses not to let them dictate his story. Instead, he finds light in the darkest of places and shows the life's inevitable end is only more reason to fill each day with humour, vibrancy and love."
Philley describes Erdal as a "wonderfully engaging and hyperbolic storyteller" and calls the work a "deeply touching portrait" of an extraordinary woman.
How To Disappear Completely is written and performed by Itai Erdal. His collaborators include director James Long, dramaturge Anita Rochon, sound designer Emelia Symington Fedy and projection designer Jamie Nesbitt.
Shows are at 8 p.m. nightly. Tickets for the March 7 preview are $15. Regular shows are $32, or $27 for students and seniors. Call 604-205-3000 or see www. shadboltcentre.com.
