Revelations Review @ Brisbane Festival 2019

A one-man show that is both exhilarating and heart-wrenchingly sad, ‘Revelations’ will jokingly, rambunctiously, charmingly slip under your defences and then hit you so hard you can’t breathe.

Written and performed by James Rowland and directed by Daniel Goldman, ‘Revelations’ was the final instalment in a trilogy of stories called ‘Songs Of Friendship’.

Combining comedy, music and storytelling, Rowland painted a picture that was both incredibly normal in some ways and soul-destroyingly surreal in others.

He told an interwoven story about friendship, love, childhood adventures, religion, death, miracles and the allure of a snow day.

This part of the trilogy was all about how his friends asked him to donate his sperm so they could have a baby. And what happened along the way.

His method to tell the events from that time through song, storytelling and at one point, without clothing, was a bold move which felt like exactly the right creative choice.

Rowland is an actor with stage presence, who is funny but inclusive – a bearded man with an unexpected youthful innocence – and it was almost impossible to look away from him once he began.

It was an intense experience, and not what you might be seeking if looking to relax on a Friday night. But after riding the waves of uncomfortable emotions, expect to end up floating into shore feeling peaceful, grateful and uplifted.

Sometimes you have to hear the hard things to remember how good life can be.