Review by Shelley Hayashi (My Vancity)

Paradise or The Impermanence of Ice Cream is a masala of life, death, cultural traditions, puppetry and environmental concerns with a shot of Bollywood disco music thrown in for good measure.

Jacob Rajan plays Kutisar, a man who has died but is not quite ready to transition to paradise.

Instead, he enters a weird, in-between life and death space where he returns to Mumbai as a young man – perhaps an actual memory or a glimpse of his life as it might have been. During this time, Kutisar meets seven individuals, all played by Rajan, who have a profound effect on him. He experiences some exhilarating highs, devastating lows and has a few regrets. Through his friend, who owns an ice cream shop, Kutisar also unexpectedly discovers a possible explanation for the mysterious disappearance of India’s vanishing vultures.

Through Rajan’s lively and enthralling performance and intricate puppetry, this is a contemplative piece of theatre that leaves you pondering on the impermanence of life.