A deaf, blind girl trapped alone in darkness and silence until a young teacher miraculously breaks through. This is the true story of Hellen Keller, unable to communicate with or comprehend the world around her. Her fiery young governess, Annie Sullivan, battles the Keller family’s palpable hopelessness to provide Helen with the gift of language.
In her 1903 essay entitled ‘Optimism’, Helen Keller describes the freedom that words brought her and the transformation that they wrought not only in her circumstances but also in her soul: “Once I knew only darkness and stillness…my life was without past or future…but a little word from the fingers of another fell into my hand that clutched at emptiness, and my heart leaped to the rapture of living.”
Like Helen Keller we all find ourselves lost in a darkness and silence that is the inevitable human condition. We are born into a world – a cosmos – already spinning and we must find our place and our purpose. Author David Jeffrey manages to capture this human plight with the phrase “inextricably middled”. Not only do we find ourselves “middled” in the story of our own lives, but also caught in the sticky throws of history unable to see where it’s all leading. Like Helen, we clutch at emptiness trying to find the meaning of our lives. Just as Helen found vision through the power of words, so too we can discover our true selves in words. God’s Word is the answer to our deafness and blindness – the only satisfying answer to the question of our existence. Through God’s Word we see our past, our future and the language in which to understand our place and purpose. All things were created through Him and for Him (Col 1:16): the glorious relief from our darkness and silence.
Rosebud Theatre has powerfully brought this miraculous story of how Annie Sullivan unshackled Helen Keller’s life in their production of The Miracle Worker. The production tells the captivating story with an array of characters, all trying to love Helen in their own broken way. Although the play centers around Helen, (brought to life with a reckless abandon by Jenny Daigle) we also follow the winding journey of Annie Sullivan, her teacher, played by Brynn Linsey. Supported by a fabulous cast, Linsey manages to embody not only the child-like fervor of Annie Sullivan, but also her selfless discipline and devotion. The Miracle Worker portrays a gripping message but manages to maintain the characteristic charming feel of every Rosebud play. Professional but not presumptuous – showing that fearless and humble can coexist onstage. The play is a very physical one, with Helen lost in a wild untamed state, seemingly unreachable in a world all her own. Annie and Helen are constantly battling wills in very well orchestrated fight scenes. Yet the cast manages to maintain the poise and grace of the story’s era without taming the bold characters that make this story so powerful.
The words formed in Helen’s palm eventually shine light into her darkness, in this well-known story of Annie Sullivan’s struggle to convey that words have meaning. On stage we watch Helen, desperate to participate in something beyond her own survival, awakening from her dark and confused existence. We cannot help but to see ourselves, clutching and yearning for the same. Words birthed new life to Helen Keller, just as God’s Word brings us new life in Him.
