As part of the Push Festival volunteer staff, I had the opportunity to see the monologue "Monopoly!". Any description I might give you of this show would be insufficient to correctly transmit the show's magic, its thought provoking message, and Mike's energy. I confess that before the show, I wasn't too thrilled about the idea of sitting through a 90 minute monologue...but it only took the performer a few seconds to turn my skepticism into awe.
Mike Daisey delivers his monologue with such strength that you literally put off blinking for the entire show. "Monopoly!" navigates perfectly through different true stories of corporate abuse, weaving bits of Daisey's personal life into a plot that suddenly becomes everyone's daily confrontation with rapacious private interests. From a strong commentary on big box store suburbia to an enlightening critique of the intellectual property system, "Monopoly!" serves as an urgent call against the abuses of unchecked corporate power.
I don't remember excatly when it happened, but somewhere between the stories of I suddenly felt a lump of coal in my throat. If you simply read the story of Nicola Tesla, or read how Parker Brothers bought the rights to Monopoly from its true inventor, you probably won't feel a thing. But after hearing Mike Daisey tell you the story and seeing how he develops the characters and turns their lives into passionate accounts of injustice, it is impossible not to feel a hole in your chest. And if you already have even a slightly negative opinion of Wal Mart, this show's poetic message might turn you into a full time activist.
Needless to say, if you have the chance, go see a show by Mike Daisey.
Here is the description of "Monopoly!" on the show's website:
In this devastating monologue about monopoly and its discontents, Mike Daisey explores the warped genius of inventor Nikola Tesla and his war with Thomas Edison over electricity—alternating current versus direct current—a battle that etched itself into the streets of New York City itself. This thread loops and whorls around Microsoft’s historic antitrust lawsuit, the secret history of the board game Monopoly, and ultimately the story of Daisey’s hometown and its one remaining retailer: Wal-Mart. As subversive as it is hilarious, Monopoly! illuminates the issues we confront under corporate rule, and explores the choices and struggles individuals face living in a system that recognizes only profit and loss.
In this devastating monologue about monopoly and its discontents, Mike Daisey explores the warped genius of inventor Nikola Tesla and his war with Thomas Edison over electricity—alternating current versus direct current—a battle that etched itself into the streets of New York City itself. This thread loops and whorls around Microsoft’s historic antitrust lawsuit, the secret history of the board game Monopoly, and ultimately the story of Daisey’s hometown and its one remaining retailer: Wal-Mart. As subversive as it is hilarious, Monopoly! illuminates the issues we confront under corporate rule, and explores the choices and struggles individuals face living in a system that recognizes only profit and loss.
