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Buen Camino

 
Richard Beck Review by Richard Beck 3 Published: 26 Aug 2025 Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-24 Aug 2025

When Susan Edsall’s partner of 11 years died, her life fell apart. Out of the blue, something told her to walk the Camino de Santiago. She didn’t believe in voices and knew nothing about the pilgrimage route, but she followed the impulse. Buen Camino, at Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, is her autobiographical story of those events, combined with elements of fantasy and more mysterious voices.

Earnestly told and well presented

She carries a mantra that keeps her focused on her aims and hopes: love, grace, beauty and freedom – a far cry from the life of heavy drinking she had fallen into. She knows she has to move forward and find new meaning without Jim, when her previous purpose had simply been loving him. She now believes that with his journey a brighter future awaits, for, as she says in the other mantra that divides the scenes: “The Camino provides.”

Her personal quest makes this more than just a travelogue, though names of key places are included, along with details supplied by the Weather Fairy about the conditions she will face on each section of the route. Projected images, both real and fantastical, of people and places accompany her narrative, providing a visual focus. Through various voices she creates a multitude of characters that add entertainment value and enhance the story, though there may be too many for clarity.

It’s an interesting rather than gripping journey along the road and through her life. Earnestly told and well presented, it is clearly of great significance to Edsall – though it’s not one that would inspire me to embark on the Camino.

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The Blurb:

Susan has a perfect life, a perfect love and perfect happiness. When she suddenly undergoes an unexpected loss, that all ends. Consumed by excruciating pain, she finds it nearly impossible to imagine any future worth living. Until, on an ordinary drive to the grocery store, The Voice tells her to walk the Camino de Santiago in Spain. Susan obeys despite not believing in Voices and knowing nothing about this ancient pilgrimage. Told through 27 captivating characters and dynamic multimedia, this solo show is a walk through 540 miles of rain, resentment and redemption, exploring grief and surrender.