After a mysterious illness leaves 19-month-old Helen Keller deaf and blind, she is left to grow up in a world of silence and darkness.

Trapped in what feels like a dense fog, her increasingly wild behaviour leaves her family desperate and helpless. With no answers from doctors about how to reach her, their last hope is a doctor in Boston, who sends young Annie Sullivan, a working-class Irish girl with a haunted past, to teach Helen.

From the start, the relationship between Annie and Helen is tumultuous and sometimes violent. Will Annie be able to reach into Helen鈥檚 mind? Is communication possible?

To get the answers and explore this mysterious world of Helen, Langley鈥檚 Trinity Western University (TWU) invites the public to its latest production, William Gibson鈥檚 鈥淭he Miracle Worker,鈥� the theatre department鈥檚 second last before it closes in 18 months.

Staged from Oct. 25 to Nov. 5 and based on Helen Keller鈥檚 autobiography, 鈥淭he Story of My Life,鈥� the play is directed by associate professor of theatre Kate Muchmore Woo, who lives in Cloverdale.

Woo described the show as 鈥渁 labour of love for students and faculty.鈥�

鈥淭here are only a handful of productions left before the theatre department closes, and we wanted to bring something to the stage that showcases our talented students and tells a story of hope and resilience. In this true story, we see the miraculous beginning of Helen Keller鈥檚 journey into her brilliant future, against all odds.鈥�

Sen Longkumer, an international student from Nagaland, India, and a second-year theatre student who plays Helen in the show, said the play is about 鈥渢he need for communication 鈥� to understand and be understood 鈥� and what it can look like when we are stripped of this basic need. In Helen鈥檚 silent, sometimes violent cries for help, she sees how every person is blind and in need of a saviour figure filled with compassion, wisdom, and love.鈥�

Grace Moore, a third-year theatre major, said she is learning 鈥渁 lot鈥� from playing Annie Sullivan, Helen鈥檚 teacher.

鈥淏eing able to open up these people and their emotions behind their history, achievement, and suffering has made me more interested in how gaps in communication are still around today.鈥�

With a deep interest in learning American Sign Language (ASL), Moore said she was excited to learn some sign language for this production.

Tickets start from $8.01. For more information, people can visit .

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