THE GOLDEN DRAGON By Roland Schimmelpfennig. Directed by Ross Manson.
At the Tarragon Theatre until February 19, 2012.
THE GOLDEN DRAGON is the latest collaboration between German playwright, Roland Schimmelpfennig and Canadian director Ross Manson.
It takes place in the Golden Dragon Chinese-Thai-Vietnamese fast-food restaurant, where five Asians work in the kitchen, preparing the meals. The youngest, an illegal immigrant, has a terrible toothache that has to be attended to.
A fable of the ant and the cricket is told in great detail.
Various characters order food; bicker; get drunk; hear bad news and leave their loved ones.
Important ideas of dispacement, finding one’s place, being protected and brutalized are dealt with in murky metaphor and dare I say it, smothering pretentiousness.
The cast is hugely talented and often rises above the stilted format of verbalizing dialogue and stage directions.
Full review on Friday, on CIUT Friday Morning, CIUT 89.5 FM from 9 am to 10 am.