the cosmonaut’s last message to the woman he once loved in the former soviet union

At the Bluma Appel Theatre. Written by David Greig. Directed by Jennifer Tarver. Designed by Julie Fox. Lighting by Robert Thomson. Sound by Thomas Ryder Payne. Projection design by Jeremy Mimnagh. Starring: Tom Barrett, Raoul Bhaneja, Fiona Byrne, David Jansen, Tony Napo, Sarah Wilson.

Produced by Canadian Stage.

Loneliness, isolation, drifting away from family and friends, and lack of communication between people are some of the themes that are explored in David Greig’s dense and maddening play.

Two cosmonauts, Casimir and Oleg, have been drifting in their spaceship for 12 years on some mysterious mission. Their communication system doesn’t work and so they have not been able to contact earth for instructions. They are convinced that they have been forgotten. Casimir is desperate to fix the system if only to talk to his daughter, who he hasn’t seen since she was six-years-old. Oleg is desperate to get a message to a woman with whom he had a weekend affair, to tell her why he never called her after that, but is having trouble expressing his reasons. A Russian exotic dancer named Natasja goes from men to men always being disappointed. In a sense she is seeking the father she hasn’t seen since she was six. Yes, Casimir is her father. A Scottish couple are having trouble with the reception on their television and have little else to say to each other. The husband is having an affair with a young Russian woman, named Natasja. Yes, it’s the same Natasja—she does get around. There is also a Frenchman in Province who is a radio hacker trying to make contact with outer space, and occasionally receives fuzzy messages, not realizing it is the stranded soviet spaceship. All are desperate to make a connection; to communicate. All are finding it almost impossible.

While the ideas of loneliness and lack of communication are interesting to explore, Mr. Greig’s play is almost stultifying with his efforts to be profound. I have no argument with suspending disbelief to make a play work, but Greig stretches incredulousness past the point of patience. And at two and a half hours, he just drones on too long which does more damage to his play than good. Perhaps it’s a ‘little’ joke of that really long title, that we never do find out what the cosmonaut’s last message is, or only message really, to the woman he once loved.

How do you make this unwieldy, dreary play work? Director Jennifer Tarver does her best. She is a gifted director and has done excellent work elsewhere in smaller venues. The Bluma Appel theatre is perhaps the biggest venue in which she has directed. That said, it’s not the stage that defeats her, it’s the play.

There are interesting scenes in which the two cosmonauts float weightless in their spaceship, trying to hang on to their sanity and wits. Julie Fox’s sets are simple and efficient in depicting the various locations of scenes.

As a smooth businessman and several bartenders, Raoul Bhaneja plays them all with a sense of danger and confidence. As Casimir and Oleg, Tom Barnett and Tony Nappo respectively do interesting work, with Barnett being the more moving and desperate of the two. As the Scottish couple among others, Fiona Byrne and David Jansen handle various accents with ease. While Sarah Wilson, as Natasja the Russian dancer, does not.

This pretentious, dreary, overlong play required a lot of work, just to stay with it. A saving grace—I don’t ever have to sit through it again.

the cosmonaut’s last message to the woman he once loved in the former soviet union plays at the Bluma Appel Theatre until May 14, 2011.