Soulpepper alchemy turns NASA’s “Golden Record” into an otherworldly concert experience

The Golden Record, on stage until November 20, is more than just a triumphant return of the idiosyncratic, multi-disciplinary Soulpepper concert: it’s an elevation of it.

It’s hard to believe, but it’s been three years since the last Soulpepper concert. If you attended one pre-pandemic, you know that the word “concert” understates this variegated, multi-disciplinary experience. Like any concert, the core is virtuoso performances by skilled musicians. But a Soulpepper concert is more like a concept album brought to musical, dramatic and visual life by versatile artists described by Slaight Family Director of Music MIke Ross as “unicorns”.

Meticulously curated, artfully rearranged, exceptionally performed – and integrated with narration, readings, projection, lighting and movement –  the songs are the main characters in an ensemble journey to the heart of a theme, a question or a time period. 

The Golden Record is inspired by the 12-inch gold-plated copper disk that NASA launched into space aboard the Voyager probe in 1977. This phonographic record (complete with stylus to enable extraterrestrial playback) contained sounds, songs and images selected to portray the diversity of life and culture on Earth. It was a message sent to aliens: after all, who knew what Voyager might encounter as it moved past the outer planets of our solar system into interstellar space, where its open-ended journey still continues? 

The physical journey and metaphysical aspiration of the record – plus the process through which its “Playlist of the Planet” was assembled – inspires the dramatic journey at the heart of this Soulpepper concert. But deliciously, it’s not quite what you think it is. 

Yes, the artists on-stage perform certain songs that are on the golden record. Yes, they sample others, DJ-like. And yes, they bring to life the playlist curation process: appreciating the thought and effort, while underlining the blind spots and omissions.

But more than that, they modernize its impossible aspiration. They nest songs that could have, would have and should have been on the album, inside others that were. They link songs to the deeper sounds and rhythms of the universe itself. And in the mesmerizing, exuberant flow of their storytelling, they act out humanity’s insignificance and grandeur. 

At a Soulpepper concert, knowing the songs in advance is like spoiling the plot. (This is why the ushers don’t give you the show program until you’re on your way out of the theatre.) So I won’t give away any song titles. I will just say that the tour de force collaborations you’ll see on-stage represent a seamlessly integrated coming-out party for the company’s five newly minted Slaight Music Associates. 

Directed by Frank Cox-O’Connell from a script by Sarah Wilson, and led by lead unicorn Mike Ross, the five sing, narrate, act and play together. And the results are sublime.

You may have known he could dance, but in The Golden Record, Travis Knights blows the doors off by combining earth-shaking tap dancing with arresting vocals and sly acting chops. Effortlessly switching from classical to contemporary and everything in between, Raha Javenfar delivers virtuoso violin,  pulsing bass guitar, and evocative vocal stylings and character work. Andrew Penner compels attention with theatrical narration and audience-rousing vocals, paired with effortless guitar and drum work. Beau Dixon captivates with his soulful baritone, electrifying electric guitar and keyboard wizardry. In addition to his talent, he brings humanity and humour that are best captured in a joyous, acrobatic keyboard collaboration with Mike Ross that needs to be seen to be believed. And Divine Brown – ahh, that voice and indelible presence simply stop you dead. 

Ross and his Associates are abetted capably by Erin James, Erika Nielsen and Amanda Penner on strings. And when their shimmering show completes its voyage, it ends in a surprising, yet altogether obvious and appropriate place. 

Collectively, the ensemble burnish brightly the concept of a playlist that captures the essence of life on our tiny planet. Restoring lustre to a mission that time has obscured – and reminding us of what we’ve missed for the past three years – they turn NASA’s Golden Record into an otherworldly concert experience. 

Don’t miss it.

Reserve tickets to The Golden Record on soulpepper.ca.

© Scott Sneddon, SesayArts Magazine, 2022