Storytelling, in the way of ancient bards around a fire, has been a dead art for centuries. And yet we occasionally see glimpses of it in the talents of certain performers, because as humans, we have always held this power, and held it in high regard when it's done impeccably well.

There is a good deal of trauma, passion, and magical mystery in Eisa Davis's play Bulrusher, which opened Wednesday night at Berkeley Repertory Theater. And it's play that manages to touch on many themes at once, while telling a fairly quaint period tale set in 1955 in Mendocino County.