Finn and Porter's THE FIERY MAZE

Twenty years later and the unburied treasure of Tim Finn and Dorothy Porter surfaces into a smoky, enchanted space at the Malthouse’s Beckett Theatre. It’s a minimalist space with a ring of lights surrounding the performing trio, Tim Finn, Brett Adams, and Abi Tucker.

Tucker howls and serenades us with Porter’s visceral and haunting words, as if the very spirit of Porter possesses Tucker. Tucker’s performance is moody and earthy, and she breathes life with her voice into the stories of the stormy, moon-gazing kind of love that evokes something forgotten in her audience. Like quicksand, we are enveloped into the private world of Porter.

Finn’s music is gorgeous, and we expected it. Brett Adams on guitar is a revelation, and a perfect suitor for the music. The real core shakers, This World, My Magic Friend and Black Waterare interspersed with the jagged energy of New Friends, Bride Doll and Making You Happy. Each song delivers a truth behind the kind of love that we remember and carry even if it’s not in our very present. Porter’s words are utterly relatable, even if we can’t admit it. Like in January, we hope for a tomorrow that may bring us something new, something better. Understandably, even decades later, Tucker asked after Black Water, wanting to revisit the music and words that never left her from that recording in 1995.

As an audience we feel no different. With Black Water still swimming in my veins, I too want to return to the balmy darkness of The Fiery Maze.

It’s a real treat for those seeking a soulful experience with this unique blend of poetry and music by world-class artists.