Tonight, Stephen Jenkinson travels to Fort Worth with his tour of A Night of Grief and Mystery. The performance combines Jenkinson’s words with Gregory Hoskins’ musical talents to put on a one-of-a-kind event.
The idea for such a show came all the way back in 2015. Jenkinson, who considered himself a lone wolf, was approached by Hoskins about the possibility of combining his work with music. The two talked for six hours, but Jenkinson didn’t expect anything to come from it. He never had any plans of a stage show or a musical act. That same week he got a call from an organization that wanted to invest in him creating a show and traveling around the US to get his work out there. The two men put together a full touring ensemble, and since then have taken their act all over the world.
The actual show itself is quite hard to describe. Jenkinson self-proclaimed it “stirring, disillusioning, dissembling, and mysterious.” Different audiences from different cultures respond differently, but people almost always leave emotional. Because it’s not a traditional performance piece, there’s no set etiquette. Audiences in Ireland applauded throughout the whole show, while in England they were much more quiet. Jenkinson finds the experience closer to a ceremony than theater, and understands the hesitation as people grapple with what would be the most respectful response.
Still, the silence in the first few performances was jarring for Jenkinson and the band. Hearing their footsteps as they left the stage made them worry they hadn’t connected with the audience. But soon the realized that the audience was no more certain than they were on how to respond to something not quite entertainment, not quite sermon.
The inspiration for the performance came from Jenkinson’s work in palliative care. He started teaching 20 years ago, and realized that in order to really deal with issues of mortality, he needed to find something more creative and engaging than just lecturing. In this way the show is just a continuation of his work before touring.
Over the years the group has really solidified their act. Each night they take time to imagine what the evening is to be and create a plan of intention. Jenkinson wants each performance to belong to the specific night, the specific audience in attendance. He had to get over any notion of responsibility of bringing a particular something to the show, and just let it be what it is. Even with this attitude, he still gets nervous before each performance like it’s the very first one. But in this uncertainty is where the magic lives.
Last night the group had a beautiful performance in Austin. This was the first time they had been back to the city in eight years, as they had their very second show ever there. Even though touring is a very disruptive way of life, Jenkinson finds it very good on the soul. He describes it as like running away to the circus, living your days outside the usual sway of things. But his team is one of professionals who know they’re a part of something special, and Jenkinson feels it is “one of the great privileges of our lives.”
The Dallas-Fort Worth area one-night performance is at 8 p.m. tonight (July 12, 2023) in the Rose Chapel of the Southside Preservation Hall, located at 1519 Lipscomb Street in Ft. Worth. General admission tickets are a special rate of $35 plus fees and $30 each (plus fees) for parties of three or more. Tickets are available online.
-Melissa Whitler
