The following review of MY GRANNY THE GOLDFISH was broadcast on Friday, March 22, 2012; CIUT Friday Morning 89.5 FM. MY GRANNY THE GOLDFISH is at the Factory Theatre Mainspace until April 15.
The Host is Rose Palmieri
(ROSE)
1) It’s Friday morning which means that Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and Passionate Playgoer is here to tell us what she thinks of what she’s seen in the way of theatre.
Hi Lynn
What kind of week have you had?
(LYNN)
Eclectic. It started on Monday with a reading of PROUD by Michael Healey at Theatre Passe Muraille.
You’ll recall that this is the play that the Tarragon Theatre passed on programming because the Artistic Director Richard Rose, thought the Prime Minister might sue them and their funding might be in jeopardy.
Michael Healey had been a writer-in-residence at Tarragon for years—they did his plays regularly. This lack of programming made him leave Tarragon
for good.
Andy McKim, the Artistic Director of Theatre Passe Muraille, jumped at the chance to produce a reading of the play as a fundraiser.
The place was packed and many people were turned away.
I won’t review the play of course except to say it’s a first draft and full of Healey’s wit, humour and political smarts. He’s producing the play himself in the fall. Should be interesting.
On Wednesday night I saw the filmed version of the Stratford Shakespeare Production of TWELFTH NIGHT
I saw the production at Stratford directed by Des McAnuff and as you know and hated it.
(ROSE)
2) Then why did you see the film?
(LYNN)
Well if I am critical of a director and his productions, then perhaps it will improve with a different director doing the filming.
(ROSE)
3) And was it better?
(LYNN)
No. Barry Avrich directed the film of the staged production and did no one any favours. No subtlety, no nuance, no revelation and annoying camera work. I don’t want to see this play again for a long time thanks to these guys.
And then last night I saw MY GRANNY THE GOLDFISH at the Factory Theatre Mainstage. Written by Anosh Irani
(ROSE)
4) What an intriguing title. What’s the story?
(LYNN)
A young man named Nico begins the play by telling us that it all started with a lump. Nico is a hypochondriac, but he developed a lump on his back and he went into the hospital to have it operated on and a biopsy done.
He was originally from Bombay. His parent and grandmother live there. Nico is in Canada taking a course in business. He hasn’t seen his family in two years.
We are lead to believe they are estranged, but hisparents are paying his way and sending him money.
While Nico is in the hospital waiting for the results of the biopsy, his grandmother flies from Bombay to Canada to be with him in the hospital giving him moral support. This is a total surprise to him.
The play shifts back and forth from the hospital room to Bombay where Nico’s parents are waiting for a call from the grandmother to report on Nico’s condition.
Both parents bicker, and drink, all the time. The grandmother travels with a flask full of whiskey. There is a history of alcoholism there. Nico does not drink. He just assumes the worst about his health. So in a way that’s his addiction.
(ROSE)
5) Sounds like a story full of potential. How does it do as a play?
(LYNN)
MY GRANNY THE GOLDFISH is a dud of a play. Actually the problem is that writer Anosh Irani has not written a play. He’s written a group of underdeveloped characters spouting one liners in sit-com situations. No real characters talk like that.
The grandmother arrives but no truths are told in a credible way. She wanders around telling funny stories that are not connected.
She goes to find the doctor only to report back some ill informed information.
Now really Rose, think about it. Nico is a hypochondriac. He’s just had an operation on a lump. Yet he doesn’t seem to be remotely aware or interested in finding out the results. Not once do we hear him getting that doctor to tell him anything. The Granny does but only as a set up for lame jokes.
And the scenes between the parents are more lame one-liners and improbable conversations after another.
In Act II there are revelations that come from no where substantiated by nothing that has gone before.
Irani’s efforts to be funny are obvious, laboured and fall flat.
Mr. Irani is a successful novelist but MY GRANNY THE GOLDFISH is not his shining hour as a playwright, even though he has written plays before. In a word, dire.
(ROSE)
6) Ouch…Lynn does the production help to salvage this?
(LYNN)
Alas no. Director Rosemary Dunsmore is a terrific actress and director in her own right, but if the material is as unforgiving as this is there is little one can do. That said, I found her staging rather odd.
The Granny moves around that set for no reason. The Granny sits in a chair giving lines then gets up and stands centre stage giving more lines.
It’s a hospital room yet set designer John Thompson has furniture, such as chairs, so far away from the centre of the action it’s jarring when they sit way over there talking to Nico way over here.
As for the acting…As Nico, Kawa Ada is personable and engaging as the frustrated young man loving to his Granny and at odds with his parents.
As Granny, Yolande Bavan seems ill at ease with the lines, the jokes and the pacing. Lots of hesitation there and it results in a flat performance.
As the parents, Sanjay Talwar as the father and Veena Sood as the mother are saddled with unfunnylines and ridiculous situations.
Ms Sood as the mother wears many many bracelets that clang whenever she raises or moves her arms, which is constant. So every times she speaks it’s with this annoying, distracting noise.
Is the costumes designer Robin Fisher kidding by having her wear this stuff? Get them off her!
At one point in the show the two actors playing the parents have to go from back stage through the front of the theatre and then enter through the audience.
I heard those noisy bracelets as Ms Sood clambered and clanged through the theatre. Mind-numbing in their annoyance.
TAKE THOSE BRACELETS OFF NOW!
And when your opening night audience is not laughing, as it wasn’t last night, you have to know, if you are the playwright, you have a problem.
You want to say to Anosh Irani—
Why did you write this play? What do you want us to get from it? What truths? Wisdoms?
Now rewrite it; make it shorter, maybe 90 minutes with no intermission.
(ROSE)
Thanks Lynn. That’s Lynn Slotkin our theatre critic and Passionate Playgoer. You can read her blog at www.slotkinletter.com
MY GRANNY THE GOLDFISH runs at Factory Theatre until April 15.
Tickets at www.factorytheatre.ca