In Burnt Norton, the first poem of Four Quartets by TS Eliot, a bird is the guide through a garden that is both within and outside of time. If that tightens a knot in the brain, so be it. This is Eliot, after all.
Here on the Vineyard, Abby Bender is both the guide and performer in her show Inhabit the Garden inspired by the Eliot poem. Ms. Bender performed the show last fall and has decided to bring it back this weekend and next.
“It was really well received last year and we wanted to show it to more people,” she said.
Each performance is limited to six guests who travel through a small Island cottage with Ms. Bender, accompanied by original music created by Brian Hughes and a taped recording of T.S. Eliot reading his poem. Think of it as the coming together of music, poetry, set and the mind of Ms. Bender, the founder of the popular Built on Stilts festival held each summer for the past 23 years. Ms. Bender said the show is one of the most challenging things she has ever done. Mr. Hughes hatched the idea and presented it to her.
“At first I didn’t even understand it,” Ms. Bender said. “Then I slowly pecked away and found how it spoke to me.”
Each show is both the same and varied.
“I am there with six people in a living room and every time, even though I don’t stray, the way I handle the text is different,” Ms. Bender said.
There are three shows a night at 6, 7 and 8 p.m. on Nov. 1, 3, 6, 7 and 9. Each show is free and limited to just six people. Reservations are required at inhabitredux.bpt.me and after securing a ticket, the location of the show will be provided.
“It is both hard to describe and different than anything else happening,” Ms. Bender said.
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