Tao of Glass at Soho Place

Tao of Glass, the collaborative brainchild of composer Philip Glass and writer, co-director, and performer Phelim McDermott, is difficult to pin down. It’s a one-hander about McDermott’s love for Glass’s music and how it accompanied him throughout his life; it’s a philosophical exploration of creativity and art in light of the Tao Te Ching; and it’s also the story about the many trials and failures McDermott experienced on his journey to create the Tao of Glass itself. But for all the difficulties in defining it, this is an exceptional play – in fusing puppetry, comedy, slice-of-life storytelling, and Glass’s ethereal music, it hooks its audiences from the first word spoken.

The heart of the piece is McDermott’s recital; he carries the entirety of the narrative, engages as a master storyteller as he talks about the Japanese art of kintsugi – mending broken pottery to make the fractures more beautiful than before; a ridiculously expensive coffee table that broke; how he haunted his family with Glassworks as a young man; and much, much more. The fragmentary nature is part of the point. The real Tao cannot be defined, and yet it lies at the heart of everything; and so here, Glass’s music functions as the bridge leading to the ineffable centre. McDermott himself delivers the narration with oozes of charm and outstanding comedic timing.

The narration is supported by a team of puppeteers: Sarah Wright, Janet Etuk, and Vic Llewellyn, who work with various utensils to underpin McDermott’s words, such as sheets of music that shower onto the stage or form a puppet of Glass, a broken piano, or an actual puppet of a child that occasionally represents the writer’s son, Ridley. Their movements are smooth and coordinated, adding a sprinkle of magic.

But it is the music, really, that intoxicates the audiences, and this is precisely what McDermott celebrates with Tao of Glass: how Glass’s meditative music flows, “calm and dangerous at the same time,” as Ridley once said, and serves as a conduit to the Tao. The music is ever-present throughout the runtime and performed beautifully by the band under Chris Vatalaro’s musical direction.

Tao of Glass is easy to recommend. It’s a unique piece which defies classification or expectation, and is an easy success on all fronts. Equal parts moving, funny, and mesmerising, it’s a beautiful meditation on creativity.

Michael Higgs
Photo: Johan Persson

Tao of Glass is at Soho Place from 25^th July until 12^th September 2026. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.

Watch the trailer for Tao of Glass at Soho Place here: