In his solo show, theatrical lighting designer Itai Erdal, who calls Vancouver home, tells the story of his mom Mery’s death. When Mery was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2010, Erdal flew to his birthplace of Jerusalem to be by her side. Using the medium he knows best, Erdal tells his story through lighting. Speaking of his mother’s second husband Pedro, he says, he would start by giving a sense of unease, “then I would slowly shift to a front, top, warm, light-wash with a chocolate or pale apricot, so by the end of the cue you would really like him.” Erdal doesn’t shy away from harshness, including his bullying of his sister, but Mery herself brings humour and resilience to the piece: “Is the whole interview going to be in this tone?” she asks in a film clip, gently mocking her son for his “profound questions”. Clear-eyed and loving, How To Disappear Completely, which premiered in Vancouver in 2011, will play the Gateway Theatre’s Studio B Thursday (November 13) to November 22.