Lynn

Heads up for the Week of Jan. 15-21, 2024

Jan. 15-28, 2024.

Migraaants

Theatre Passe Muraille

By Matei Visniec

Translated by Nick Awde

Directed by Siavash Shabanpour

In Matei Visniec’s dark comedy Migraaaants, we journey with asylum seekers from war and unrest to an over-crowded boat, to an uncertain welcome in an unknown land. 

The mosaic of stories in Migraaaants leads us through the many facets of a global crisis: not only the terrifying journeys of those in flight but the machinations of deadly chaos shaped by political forces. 

TICKETS ON SALE NOW

https://ca.patronbase.com/_TheatrePasseMuraille/Productions/MIG/Performances

Jan 15- 21, 2024

Quartet

At VideoCabaret, 10 Busy Street, Toronto, Ont.

By Heiner Muller

Directed by Harri Thomas

A play by: Heiner Muller Translated by: Marc Von Henning

BUY TICKETS

A play by: Heiner Muller
Translated by: Marc Von Henning

An Other Hearts production
in association with VideoCabaret

Who will you be, and who will you be with, after the end?

​Quartet is a play written by Heiner Muller, inspired by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Liasons Dangereuse. In a space that is equal parts “a drawing room before the French Revolution/ an air raid shelter after WWIII”, two people remain: the Marquise de Merteuil (M) and the Vicomte de Valmont (V).  

Jan. 18-28, 2024

The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunger Becomes.

Berkeley Street Theatre/Canadian Stage

A Back to Back Theatre production from Australia presented by Canadian Stage

When AI takes over from human intelligence, how will people be treated?

Weaving a narrative through human rights, sexual politics, and the rise of artificial intelligence, The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes is a sly theatrical revelation reminding us that none of us are self-sufficient and all of us are responsible for the future.

Written and performed by neuro-divergent actors, this is a funny and beautiful play unlike anything else that will be seen on stage.

All performances will be presented with surtitles. 

Jan. 18-21, 2024

Greenhouse Festival

Tarragon Theatre

This is a Tarragon Theatre Festival of works-in-development, instillations, and collectives. This is the Festival’s second year. Last year the entire Tarragon Theatre building was chockablock with theatre activity. This year is packed with plays, installations, works from collectives all of which will prick your imagination. Check the website for tickets, deals, timetables and schedules.

www.tarragontheatre.com

{ 0 comments }

Live and in person at Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton, Ont. Theatre Aquarius presents a Crow’s Theatre Production. Plays until Jan. 27 2024.

www.theatreaquarius.org

Written by Anton Chekhov

Adapted by Liisa Repo-Martell

Directed by Chris Abraham

Set and props co-designer, Julie Fox and Josh Quinlan

Set and props co-designer, Josh Quinlan

Costumes by Ming Wong

Lighting by Kimberly Purtell

Sound by Thomas Ryder Payne

Cast: Carolyn Fe

dtaborah johnson

Ali Kazmi

Eric Peterson

Anand Rajaram

Liisa Ripo-Martell

Tom Rooney

Shannon Taylor

A reconfigured Crow’s Theatre production to accommodate the proscenium stage of Theatre Aquarius with one cast change, that once again, realizes the beating heart and ache of Chekhov’s characters as they search for happiness. Beautiful and illuminating.

The Story. Uncle Vanya was published in 1898 and first performed in Russia in 1899. I think Chekhov was being cheeky when he described the play on the title page as “Scenes from Country Life in Four Acts.” The play is much more than that of course. It is a look into the quietly desperate lives of people stuck in ennui and aching because of lost opportunities, unrequited love, profound unhappiness and boredom. And in Chekhov’s typical way, it’s funny.

Vanya and his niece Sonya run the country estate for Alexandre, a noted scholar and professor, and send him the money the estate makes. Alexandre’s late first wife was Sonya’s mother and Vanya’s sister. When Alexandre’s wife died, he married Yelena, a woman much younger than he was. Because the times are not as prosperous for Alexandre, he’s come to the country estate with Yelena to continue his writing of essays, articles and other scholarly endeavors that occupy his time. In the process he and Yelena disrupt the whole household.

There used to be an order to the day of those on the estate. Marina, the family’s elderly servant, was used to preparing the meals at set times during the day and sleeping at normal, regular times. With the professor’s odd sleeping patterns, he got up at noon and worked usually all night, meals were not regular. Vanya and Sonya had not attended to running the estate for fear of upsetting the timetable of Alexandre.

The animosity of Vanya towards Alexandre is palpable. Vanya feels he squandered his life in the service to this pompous buffoon. Vanya also felt he had a better intellect than Alexandre. And to make matters worse Vanya is in love with Yelena.

Alexandre is always complaining of ill health and so Dr. Astrov is summoned to come and minister to him. When the doctor gets there, Alexandre wouldn’t see him. Astrov is secretly in love with Yelena as well. Rounding out this stoical longing is Sonya, who also pines for Astrov.    

The Production. Note: This is a remount of the 2022 Crow’s Theatre Toronto production but with a restaging and in one, a recasting, but only for Hamilton.  When the production played in Toronto in 2022, the production was performed in the round, with the audience on all sides of the action. There were pockets of action that the whole audience deliberately could not see. It added to a kind of secrecy, or privacy feel to these scenes.  This remount in 2024 is presented in a proscenium theatre, we watch the action straight on. There are still lots of surprises.

Set and props co-designers, Julie Fox and Josh Quinlan, have reconfigured the main room of this manor house so one gets the sense of the size and suggested former grandeur of the estate. The rugs are threadbare and faded. A long table and benches on either side are upstage center. Presumably this is where the family eats and Vanya (Tom Rooney) and Sonya (Liisa Ripo-Martell) work. There is little furniture, except for Marina the old nanny’s (Carolyn Fe) overstuffed, worn chair and foot rest facing downstage, a small desk stage right.  Memorabilia, books and lots of stuff are placed under things or around the room etc. A chandelier hangs down from the flies. Beams are above and they are large and thick. There are double doors leading off to other parts of the house. There is a glass wall looking out to a garden and the glass is filthy with grime.  This is a huge house, now shabby.

Kimberly Purtell’s lighting gives the sense of a faded photograph of by gone times. by filling the whole space as if we are in the main room of the house.

Ming Wong’s costumes—well-worn for those who work the estate, and very stylish for Yelena (Shannon Taylor) and Alexandre (an irascible Eric Peterson) who is always in a suit to give off the impression of success. At times Thomas Ryder Payne provides a subtle hum, ‘buzz’ that underscores a speech. It’s one more aspect of something that closes in on these people as they try and endure.

Director Chris Abraham has beautifully, sensitively realized the subtle bubbling of emotions in the play—that bubbling emotion is more noticeable in this production. Chris Abraham’s direction illuminates the ache of yearning, of disappointment and lost love.

With this proscenium staging one gets a stronger sense of the ennui, boredom and despair these people experience. Performances are fuller, richer, deeper and more nuanced. One is keenly aware that Vanya is always shuffling around aimlessly just to give the sense of being busy. What he is really experiencing is crushing boredom, waiting for Alexandre to appear and the household to snap to attention. Tom Rooney plays Vanya as stooped, defeated by life and disappointment. He’s anxious, angry at Alexandre and in secret love with Yelena. When he rages at Alexandre it’s in a torrent of articulation and linguistic dexterity that is breathtaking. Vanya is ground down by life and the lack of its fullness. Brilliant work.

Characters such as Astrov (a haunted, serious Ali Kazmi) talks of how exhausted he is but can’t seem to sit down and rest (part of Chekhov’s quiet humour). I always wonder what would happen if Astrov sat down. Liisa Ripo-Martell plays Sonya in Hamilton. Sonya is industrious, efficient, an organizer. She finds things to occupy her and she moves with a purpose, although keeping her emotions secret, but only just. She is the diplomat, the calmer of frayed nerves, the one who takes charge when all else fails.

As Marina the old nanny/maid, Carolyn Fe quietly and with care, sees that the family is fed, that the samovar is always on, offers motherly affection and drink to Astrov, is always folding blankets and even when she is sitting in her chair, she’s knitting, being useful. Marina is industrious and uncomplaining while the others avoid doing anything and complain about it all the time. Chekhov is hilarious.   Abraham carefully realizes each character’s heart-ache. Scenes are never rushed. They have time to breathe and be. They linger in the air compelling us to see, feel and be aware of each character’s beating heart. I especially sensed that with this iteration of the play.

Liisa Repo-Martell’s adaptation breathes a freshness into Chekhov’s timeless play, that enhances it without distorting it. For example, at the end, as Sonya is comforting Uncle Vanya, trying to buoy him and give him hope, the frequent translation is that after they dedicate their lives to work, they will find rest (in the afterlife?). In Liisa Repo-Martell’s version, Sonya says they will ‘have peace’ which I think is more profound. More comforting. Repo-Martell’s language is both of Chekhov’s time and timeless. There is an intellectual modernity to it. And the fact that Liisa Ripo-Martell plays Sonya in the Hamilton stint adds a poignancy. It’s almost as if she is willing herself to believe in what she is telling Vanya.

Yelena is the most perceptive character in the play. She knows the secret feelings of those in the house and it’s so clear in Shannon Taylor’s playing of her. Shannon Taylor’s Yelena is full of grace. Conversation stops when she enters a room because characters are compelled to look at her. Taylor is watchful at everybody in the room. She listens to what they say and intuits how they feel. She knows her effect on people but is not destructive with it. She is bored, but won’t leave.

If ever there was a character who was pompous, bombastic and a source of hollow pontificating, Alexandre is it and he is played with wonderful arrogance, irritation and much hilarity by Eric Peterson. While Alexandre is revered by many, he’s easily defeated in an argument by Vanya who shows the hollow phony Alexandre is.  

Comment. Chekhov has said that if there is a gun visible in Act I then it has to go off in Act III. Well, there is no visible gun in this production, but it does go off in Act III (?) when Vanya attempts to shoot Alexandre. And misses. Twice. Hilarious and heart-breaking.

These characters are stuck in their misery but continue to perpetuate it. Vanya has squandered his life toiling on that estate, but he never moved to do anything else. Vanya berates Alexandre for never raising his salary in all the time Vanya has been overseeing the estate. Yet Vanya never asked for a raise either. It’s as if the characters need to suffer to feel alive. And they won’t move to change it. In a Chekhovian way, that’s funny. Stunning production, wonderful theatre. This production will play the CAA Theatre in Toronto for February, with Bahia Watson playing Sonya. I’m looking forward to seeing that too.

Theatre Aquarius presents a Crow’s Theater Production:

Opened: Jan. 12, 2024 (Snow storm? What snow storm?)

Runs until: Jan. 27, 2024.

Running Time: 2 hours, 45 minutes (1 intermission)

www.theatreaquarius.org

{ 1 comment }

I interviewed Christopher Morris, today, Jan. 13, live on CIUT.fm on CRITICS CIRCLE, on Saturdays, 9 am to 10 am.

The interview is 20 minutes long and he talks about the controversy surrounding his play THE RUNNER and the cancelling of the play at both the Belfry Theatre in Victoria and the PuSH Festival in Vancouver. He gives a needed perspective on the play. Please give a listen, after clicking below and scrolling to Jan. 13 and clicking that link.

CIUT Critics Circle

{ 0 comments }

Happy New Year.

The new year of theatre is starting slowly so now is a good time for my wish for 2024-25. Not world peace—that’s impossible. I wish for something much easier.

I would like theatre artistic directors, theatre producers, creators etc. to talk to each other seriously about solving the endless problem of double, triple and quadruple booking your opening nights. If you don’t talk to each other at least a year in advance of organizing your seasons, shows, even one-off productions and opening dates, you are doomed to continue to repeat this difficult situation. It is frustrating to those of us who support you.

I don’t get the sense that theatre towns like New York, London and Chicago for example,  have this problem. They pick an opening night and everybody else steers clear of it. In New York a Broadway/Off-Broadway opening night is noted in a book and once there, no other theatre picks that date.

That said, it benefits everybody, especially your theatre company, that you give yourself the best chance of attracting the biggest audience for your opening and after. You can’t do that if you are so frequently double, triple and quadrupling your opening nights. Your core donors and supportive audiences support more than one company. Make it easier for them to attend the opening by scattering them over the week—and not just a Wednesday and Thursday. If Tarragon traditionally has their openings on Wednesday, steer clear of Wednesdays. Canadian Stage has their openings on Thursdays. Steer clear.

Almost all of you belong to the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts (TAPA) and pay dues to be Dora eligible. There used to be an Opening Night Directory. Time and time again, the same date was noted as the opening night. The mind boggles. I guess in total frustration TAPA did away with the Opening Night Directory a few years ago. I thought it was an invaluable tool.  

In the ‘olden days’ when there was a robust media covering openings the aim was to have a review in on a Thursday to be timely. We now have a decimated media with a lot of bloggers trying to fill in the gap. Reviews are posted often quickly, but more than not, slower depending on the blogger’s timetable. It’s not carved in stone that the media night and the opening night be the same. It’s not carved in stone that you have to open on a Wednesday or a Thursday. (It’s also not carved in stone that you can’t open your season during the Toronto International Film Festival—Crow’s Theatre and AD Chris Abraham have done really well opening their season during TIFF).

Mirvish Productions has openings on Sunday afternoons. La Bête from Talk Is Free Theatre in Barrie will have its opening at Harbourfront on Monday, March 4. Be creative!

I know the season is finite. I know you all have to timetable your show(s) according to when you get the theatre and the actor’s availability and the union rules governing your runs. But if you all don’t talk to each other to co-ordinate you are doomed to repeat the awful event of two opening nights etc. for good plays at the same time!

Your publicists are trying to be pro-active by providing the exact opening night dates for the whole year so they can be noted and reserved. Other publicists send out invites more than the usual 10 days in advance of the opening, to secure reviewers for their openings. If it’s double booked one has to juggle by coming the second, third or even fourth night of the run. I don’t think that’s helpful for getting an audience. Yes, word of mouth is important, so is having a timely, thoughtful review to get the word out.

How does the Stratford Festival and the Shaw Festival manage not to double book their many openings? They actually talk to each other the year before. Why can’t/don’t you do the same. They are colleagues.  

Talk to each other. All of you should have a good lunch at a round table for easy talking. Hash it out. Yes, it’s complicated. That’s the world you live in and you solve every complication from COVID to cancellations to shut downs. You solve it. Please solve this once and for all.

Happy New Year.

NOTE: Respectful comments are accepted on this site as long as they are accompanied by a verifiable name and a verifiable e-mail address. Posts that are slanderous, libelous or personally derogatory will not be approved.

{ 1 comment }

Heads Up For the Week of Jan. 8-14, 2024

Jan. 11-20, 2024

The Greenhouse Festival

Tarragon Theatre, Toronto, Ont.

This is a Tarragon Theatre Festival of works-in-development, instillations, and collectives. This is the Festival’s second year. Last year the entire Tarragon Theatre building was chockablock with theatre activity. This year is packed with plays, installations, works from collectives all of which will prick your imagination. Check the website for tickets, deals, timetables and schedules.

www.tarragontheatre.com

Jan 12- 21, 2024

Quartet

At VideoCabaret, 10 Busy Street, Toronto, Ont.

By Heiner Muller

Directed by Harri Thomas

A play by: Heiner Muller Translated by: Marc Von Henning

BUY TICKETS

A play by: Heiner Muller
Translated by: Marc Von Henning

An Other Hearts production
in association with VideoCabaret

Who will you be, and who will you be with, after the end?

​Quartet is a play written by Heiner Muller, inspired by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ Liasons Dangereuse. In a space that is equal parts “a drawing room before the French Revolution/ an air raid shelter after WWIII”, two people remain: the Marquise de Merteuil (M) and the Vicomte de Valmont (V).  

January 10-27, 2024

Uncle Vanya

Theatre Aquarius, Hamilton, Ont.

A CROW’S THEATRE PRODUCTION OF UNCLE VANYA

Written by: Anton Chekhov
Directed by: Chris Abraham
Adapted by: Liisa Repo-Martell

A modern adaptation and dazzling cast breathe new life into Chekhov’s masterpiece. In the waning days of Czarist Russia, Vanya and his niece, Sonya, toil ceaselessly to run their family estate. After retiring, Sonya’s father, a celebrated professor, returns to the estate with his young, glamourous wife. When he announces his plans to sell the land and evict them all, passions explode and lives come undone.

Note: This is the Crow’s Theatre production that played in Toronto last year but this time with a change in the staging configuration. Instead of being in the round, as it was last year, this year director Chris Abraham is directing it for a proscenium stage. For the Hamilton run Liisa Repo-Martell will be playing Sonya.

The production will then play the CAA Theatre in Toronto, Feb. 2-25, 2024, again in a proscenium theatre. For the Toronto run, Bahia Watson will be reprising her role as Sonya.

www.theatreaquarius.org

{ 0 comments }

Live and in person at the AKI Studio (Daniels Spectrum) 585 Dundas St. E., Toronto presented by Favour the Brave Collective. Until Jan. 14, 2024.

boxoffice@nativeearth.ca

Written by Genvieve Adams

Directed by Tyler J. Seguin

Dramaturg, Keith Barker

Production design, by Kalina Popova

Sound by Maddie Bautista

Lighting designer, Imogen Wilson

Cast: Genevieve Adam

Montana Adams

Jordan M. Burns

Theresa Cutknife

Darcy Gerhart

Scott Garland

Brianne Tucker

Third in a trilogy of plays that take place in New France in the 1600s. Good, complex storytelling.  

The Story. Heartless by Genevieve Adam is the third part of her New France Trilogy. It takes place in New France in 1689. This is how the press information describes it:

“Two female Wendat warriors are looking for a runaway priest. A nun who sees visions and a young widow are looking for a lost city. A killer is looking for redemption. Their paths collide in a darkly funny tale of forgiveness, family and the terrible things that are done in the name of love.”

There are seven characters in the play and in one way or another they are connected. I won’t itemize all the relationships, but as an example: Anne is the mother of Marinette, the young widow. Her husband died in some accident when he was away from home, but his body was never found, just his canoe.  Anne is also the adoptive mother of Oheo, one of the female Wendat warriors and it’s Oheo who wants to find the runaway priest. Her cousin Sheauga is the other female Wendat warrior and is accompanying her cousin on this quest.  They are fearless warriors, accomplished and reveal different attitudes towards the white settlers etc. Sheauga has no use for them. Oheo is more forgiving because. Perhaps it’s because she is of mixed blood, or perhaps it also might be why she wants to find the priest.

The Production and comment. While Heartless is the third in the New France trilogy you do not need to be familiar with the first two parts. Theatre being so time consuming, it’s a long time between plays.

For example, Genevieve Adam wrote Deceitful Above All Thingsin 2015 for SummerWorks where I first saw it, and then it was remounted in 2017. https://slotkinletter.com/?s=deceitful+above+all+things

Sets up the premise of women coming to New France from the old world to start a new life between 1663-1673.

The second play, Dark Heart is a prequel of the first play and it takes place in 1661, so matters get complicated.

https://slotkinletter.com/?s=Dark+Heart

Characters in the first two plays are referenced in Heartless. Fortunately, Genevieve Adam is an inventive playwright and fine story-teller and each play stands on its own with its own story. For the most part, Heartless is a fascinating story, of different cultures and attitudes, the power of guilt, the independence of women in order to survive, redemption and love.

Genevieve Adam has set her plays in New France in the 1600s but her characters have a gritty vocabulary which is very modern especially the swearwords. But she also has vivid expressions for her Wendat characters. For example, Oheo, one of the female Wendat warriors speaks of a man who she loved in the past. She says: “his name is in my mouth.”  I loved that expression. It’s of a different time and culture and its meaning is so vividly clear no matter the time period.

Genevieve Adams has made her women tough, resourceful, independent, and vengeful if things don’t go properly. I found the way playwright Genevieve Adam depicted the attitudes of both cousins to be nuanced and subtle. Sheauga was adamantly anti-settler. Oheo is more forgiving perhaps because she is of mixed blood or it also might be why she wants to find the priest.

As I said, for the most part, Heartless is a fascinating story, certainly with regards to the title. So many things happen that are described as heartless—vengeance for example. Or a character is described as being heartless, as not having a heart in the center of their body.

But I found the character of Catherine, the nun to be problematic.  She sees visions (perhaps it’s that passion drink she is consuming). She is looking for the lost city of Hochelaga, the source of her people, now seemingly lost and her people, dead (it was a St. Lawrence Iroquois 16th century fortified village on or near Mount Royal in present-day Montreal). Unless I missed something in the dialogue, I thought Catherine was unconnected to the others, who are so connected. I found Catherine to be the weakest character. Is this Genevieve Adam trying to make a case for lost ancestors? Not sure. I don’t think the play would suffer without her.

We live in interesting times, where accusations of appropriation of voices is prevalent. So, I wonder if Genevieve Adam is appropriating the Indigenous voice through her Wendat characters of Oheo and Sheauga? Genevieve Adam’s bio does not mention if she is Indigenous. But her dramaturg is Keith Barker who is a member of the Metis nation of Ontario. He is the former Artistic Director of Native Earth. As dramaturg he would be responsible for the rigor in being true to any Indigenous reference as well as consulting in the overall process of helping the playwright realize her play.

The production design by Kalina Popova is simple and evocative: swaths of gold material in various formation hang down from the flies suggesting trees, foliage, different locations, etc.

Director Tyler J. Seguin does a good job of realizing the play with what is really a large cast with several locations. The direction is assured, efficient and keeps the pace moving without lagging. Generally, the acting is strong. Genevieve Adam plays Anne, an irreverent but confident woman, who has many secrets. She seems to control what is going on in the story. As the playwright she has written herself the best part.  She is funny, flirty and dangerous. Genevieve Adam plays these aspects with subtlety and never tips her hand until absolutely necessary. Theresa Cutknife plays Oheo who is anxious to find the priest for personal reasons. Her work is very moving.

I do wish that Montana Adams as Sheauga would speak up—she tends to mumble and speak softly. What Sheauga has to say is important…please speak up so that we can hear you. Overall, though I think the cast is accomplished and they tell the story with grace.

Favour the Brave Collective presents:

Plays until Jan. 14, 2024.

Running time: 75 minutes (no intermission)

boxoffice@nativeearth.ca

NOTE: Respectful comments are accepted on this site as long as they are accompanied by a verifiable name and a verifiable e-mail address. Posts that are slanderous, libelous or personally derogatory will not be approved.

{ 0 comments }

Recently I wrote what I called a ‘Rant’ on how our world and our theatre is going to hell in a handbasket.

https://slotkinletter.com/?s=Rant%2C+How+our+World+and+our+Theatre+is+going+to+hell

Maja Ardal—an accomplished, gifted theatre maker—disagreed that it was a rant and suggested it was a thoughtful essay, or a thoughtful reflection (offered by Robert Girvan, another measured reader). Fair enough. I will call these “thoughtful essays or reflections” in future.

Here is the latest, continuing on with the theme of how the pandemic has made it difficult for people to come back to being civil and kind to each other.

Herbie Barnes, the wonderful Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre in Toronto, outlined his concerns in his programme note to his lovely production of It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play, when he gave reasons for programming this play for the holidays:

“As we programmed our 2023.24 season—over a year ago—we had to try to foresee what might be of most importance for young people. Immediately post-pandemic (last season) we focused on bringing back joy.

When we selected It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play as our holiday offering, we had already noticed something else—the struggle that so many faced in re-learning how to share space with one another. Altercations on our transit systems, in our classrooms and on our streets started to appear in headlines.

Our time of isolation made us forget that we are a community and that we need each other to exist. It’s a Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play is a shining example of that simple fact. George Bailey spends his whole life giving to his neighbours. And in this play, his community is finally able to return that generosity.”

Herbie Barnes, Artistic Director, Young People’s Theatre, Toronto, Ont.

And here is something completely different.

In New York City for Broadway and Off Broadway shows the theatre programmes are printed in a publication called Playbill. For about a year I’ve noted that there is a letter from the President of Playbill to the theatre patrons. Here it is in its entirety:

“Dear Friends,

Welcome back to the theatre! As you all know, theatre is a shared human experience. It is made and managed by dedicated, caring people. All the professionals working in this theatre are there to help you. They are trained and knowledgeable, and want you to have the best experience at the show.

We know some of you have been away from our theatres for some time, and we welcome you back with open arms. As audience members, you are essential to this theatrical experience—the show could not go on without you. You are an important part of the show by helping maintain the sanctity of this space.

                        SO TO HELP YOU (AND THE PEOPLE AROUND YOU)

                     HAVE THE BEST TIME, WE PLEASE ASK THAT YOU:

• Always cooperate with the ushers and front-of-house staff. They are there to help you, keep an orderly environment, and ensure the show begins on schedule.
• Turn off your cell phone. All the way off…
• Unwrap all candies now and refrain from loud eating during the performance.
• Treat all theatre staff you see with respect and kindness. They want you to have a great time, and they deserve respect and a positive work environment.
• Be engaged with the show! But also respectful of the people around you and do not make any overly disruptive comments.
• Do not sing along with the actors. It distracts your fellow theatregoers and is not thoughtful.
• Do not engage with the actors or musicians working in the show. Only engage if they encourage you to, and please do not distract them at any time during the performance.
• Stop drinking alcohol immediately if you’re feeling tipsy. Drink some water.
• Be patient with the restroom lines. We know they’re long and space is tight. But do not become pushy or rude. Everyone will get their turn.
• Relax, sit back and enjoy the show! Once again, we could not be here without you.”

Sincerely,

Philip S. Birsh

President and Chairman

Playbill Inc

These two statements represent two different points of view.  For reflection.

NOTE: Respectful comments are accepted on this site as long as they are accompanied by a verifiable name and a verifiable e-mail address. Posts that are slanderous, libelous or personally derogatory will not be approved.

{ 6 comments }

This production played at Theatre Passe Muraille in 2018. I bears reprinting because of the controversy regarding its recent cancellation at the Belfry Theatre, Victoria, BC as of Jan. 2/24. The play is important because of its HUMANITY, something we seem to have forgotten in these fraught times.

Review: THE RUNNER

by LYNN on DECEMBER 3, 2018[EDIT]

in THE PASSIONATE PLAYGOER

At Theatre Passe Muraille, Mainspace, Toronto, Ont.

Written by Christopher Morris

Directed by Daniel Brooks

Set and costumes by Gillian Gallow

Lighting by Bonnie Beecher

Composer and sound design by Alexander MacSween

Cast: Gord Rand

A beautiful, gripping production of a compelling story about a man who just wanted to do good.

The Story. Jacob is an orthodox Jew who is single, lives with his mother and is a volunteer paramedic with Z.A.K.A, a group that goes around Israel and internationally collecting the body parts, skin and blood of Jews involved in terrorist attacks. He has no other life/job but this one and he takes it very seriously. (Note traditionally Jews must be buried intact, hence the need to collect the body parts from a terrorist attack etc. for a proper burial.)

One day he comes upon an Israeli soldier lying dead in the road and near him is a young Arab woman who has been shot in the back. She is still alive and Jacob goes to her to try and save her life. He is reprimanded by the others in his group and by his superior for helping the Arab who they assume killed the soldier. Jacob can’t assume anything because he wasn’t there. All he saw was a woman in need of help and since he took an oath to “do no harm” he helped her. He has been taking criticism and enduring the bad treatment of his co-workers, his mother and his righteous brother. All of this leaves him conflicted about what he should have done and knowing he did right.

 The Production. Daniel Brooks directs this production with his usual flair creating vivid images, stark lighting (thank you Bonnie Beecher) and directs a performance of Gord Rand as Jacob that is full of generosity, heart, air-gulping life, confusion, determination and compassion. There is such a firm but gentle hand in the direction; the orchestration of when to run, walk, speed up and shade the dialogue.

Because Jacob must be ready at a moment’s notice to rush to an incident, accident, terrorist attack, Jacob is always rushing. To create this sense of constant movement Gord Rand as Jacob does the whole play on a narrow, long strip of the stage that juts out into the space in front of the audience. It is in fact a treadmill. Beams of light from Bonnie Beecher’s stark design pour down on him. Sometimes he runs but it’s not enough to stop him being sucked into the black of upstage. Very effective image, a voice coming from the dark void upstage.

Often he is running as the treadmill speeds up. He talks urgently of what he has discovered. He talks with speed, purpose and determination of giving the Arab woman CPR and mouth to mouth resuscitation to keep her alive.

There are also moments when the treadmill slows and Jacob walks and ponders the things he has encountered and remembers. Moments in his life. He notes that his mother always has dinner ready for him but never knows if he will be home to eat it. She wants him to get married. She hasn’t twigged to the fact that that won’t happen.

There are moments when there is a loud bang sound; Jacob is on the ground and thinks he’s wet. He gets up confused about what has happened. He continues walking. His righteous brother has a job and is prosperous and has contempt for Jacob because Jacob does not have a job; he doesn’t pay taxes; he lives with their mother. In a blistering speech Jacob’s brother feels Jacob he is useless and should go back to London to live and get a job. His brother has disgust for his brother for saving the Arab girl and has contempt for all Arabs. Jacob asks his brother how he can live there under such circumstances and Jacob said his brother yelled: “BECAUSE IT’S MINE!” It’s a particularly chilling moment in a production full of them.

Gord Rand gives a towering performance as Jacob. Jacob is thoughtful, fastidious in a way, desperate to pass on good will to his fellow Jews and towards others, There is such detail, from trying to keep his yarmulke on his head, to his adjusting his glasses up on his nose with his finger,  Of course there is stamina, energy and a sense of exhaustion as Rand runs and walks for the whole hour of this important show. It’s not exhausting for the audience, interestingly enough. It’s the message that writer Christopher Morris wants us to hear and what we realize happens at the end that leaves us emotionally drained.

Jacob sees the negative attitudes around him. He knows in his heart he did right for saving the Arab girl. He is a mensch. And while we know he is kind he laments that that is a rare emotion with his fellow Jews? Volunteers? He does find kindness in the most unexpected place and while the situation there in Israel seems so hopeless that moment of kindness leads one to be optimistic.

Comment. I read somewhere that the basis of Judaism is that it is ‘life-affirming, man-revering.” That is embodied in every single thing that Jacob does in his life. He wants to save lives, no matter whose life it is: Arab, Jew, Palestinian. A life is a life. “Do no harm.”

Christopher Morris has written a compact, taut play that depicts in Jacob’s clear, pristine dialogue the history of the Jews coming to this rocky land with no oil or resources because it was promised to them. Through Jacob we glean the animosity of Jew against Jew and the thorny relationship with the Arabs.

Morris has created in Jacob a generous, open-hearted, gentle man who is searching to do good, to be scrupulous in that search. He is mindful of the explosive nature of his surroundings and tries to hold on to his humanity and find it in others. It’s a measured look at a situation that can be so lopsided. It’s an emotional exhausting,  eye-opening, gripping piece of theatre and I did what I usually do when I see something as moving as this about a troubling subject: I sobbed all the way to the car.

A Human Cargo Theatre Production with the support of Theatre Passe Muraille.

Opened: Nov. 10, 2018.

Closes: Dec. 9 2018.

Running Time: 65 minutes, no intermission.

www.passemuraille.ca

{ 0 comments }

{ 3 comments }

Live and in person at the Young Centre for the Performing Arts, Toronto, Ont. Soulpepper presents Bad Hats Theatre’s production. Playing until Jan. 7, 2024.

www.soulpepper.ca

Written by Fiona Sauder

(with a tip of the hat to the original story of “Alice in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll)

Music by Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko

Directed by Sue Miner

Musical director, Jonathan Corkal-Astorga

Co-composed by Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko

Original choreography by Cameron Carver

Costume Designer, Ming Wong

Lighting by Logan Raju Cracknell

Sound systems designer, Andres Castillo Smith

Cast: Tess Benger

Shakura Dickson

Landon Doak

Jessica Gallant

Aisha Jarvis

Ben Page

Matt Pilipiak

Fiona Sauder

Hanseul Yi

Glorious!  Embracing of difference, championing curiosity and the power of asking questions.

NOTE: This is a remount of the Bad Hats Theatre’s production from last year with a few cast changes. Such a vibrant, lively, thoughtful production requires another visit to recharge one’s batteries and see goodness in the world of this play.

The Story. Writer Fiona Sauder has used Lewis Carrol’s beloved, whimsical classic Alice in Wonderland  as an outline for her adaptation and created a version for our contemporary times. The result is Alice in Wonderland, a family musical, co-presented by Bad Hats Theatre and Soulpepper.

The whimsy is still there but it also reflects many of the changes in our world that have happened; I’m thinking of gender fluidity and how one acknowledges that, taking space, being in charge and being seen, as well as thinking for oneself and not depending on others for an opinion.   

In Fiona Sauder’s version, Alice is a precocious young girl who is endlessly curious and inquisitive. She asks questions about everything in her class of young kids. Her harried teacher, Mr. Charles has to remind her that that particular day they are only focusing on answers, not questions. Alice is still not satisfied and when she persists in asking more questions, Mr. Charles moves Alice’s desk away from the other kids so she won’t be so disruptive. But we get the measure of Alice’s imagination and curiosity when she looks out the window and sees clouds and imagines they look like animals.  Which leads her to imagine a rabbit with a pocket watch which then sends her down the rabbit hole and into a different world.

The Production.  It starts with a group of rambunctious kids coming to class, moving on their desks, chairs, and other stuff. Getting homework done quickly is an issue, especially for Alice (a wonderful Tess Benger). She has endless questions of her harried teacher Mr. Charles who is always late. For example, why are there two clocks in the room indicating different times? Tess Benger plays Alice with intense curiosity and a desperation ‘to know.’ She is not being disruptive when her hand shoots up again and again to ask a question. She just needs to know. Benger’s face creases with confusion when she is not given an answer. One can feel the intensity of her emotions at such times.  

Once Alice goes down the rabbit hole, she meets the White Rabbit (Matt Pilipiak) who is always late, Tweedle Dum (Landon Doak) and Tweedle Dee (Fiona Sauder), the Cheshire Cat (a compassionate, kind Aisha Jarvis), the Red Queen (Shakura Dickson) and a philosophical Caterpillar (Ben Page). Again, Alice’s curiosity is in full-glow thanks to Tess Benger’s shining performance.

In this version Alice’s real life in her class with her school friends melds into her imagined adventures in Wonderland. For example, Mr. Charles who is the harried teacher aware of time and played beautifully by Matt Pilipiak, also plays the White Rabbit, with the pocket watch, and is always aware of being late. Alice’s classmates become other characters. Ruby (Shakura Dickson), the smartest, most eager kid in the class becomes the confident, imperious Red Queen.

The wonderful character of the Cheshire Cat (a smiling, accommodating Aisha Jarvis) seems to have been roaming in that classroom before Alice transitioned—so maybe the cat was the class pet? Alice still has to negotiate Wonderland: to find her way along eight squares and then earn the right to be the Queen.  She is coached along the way of the many riddles by Tweedle Dum (Landon Doak) and Tweedle Dee (Fiona Sauder). Alice is tenacious about completing the challenge of dealing with eight squares before she has fulfilled the Red Queen’s challenge.         

And it’s a musical.  This company is so gifted with imagination and talent—they all play instruments during the show. Many taking turns playing piano as characters shift and change from scene to scene.  Ad they all sing beautifully.

Landon Doak and Victor Pokinko co-composed the show and it’s full of wit, an intoxicating score and lyrics that reflect the upheaval in this Wonderland, as well as in the real world. Fiona Sauder’s adaptation also reflects that juxtaposition between both worlds.

Last year I was aware that the production seemed to subtly reference George Floyd through lyrics of the fearless Red Queen, this year played with energy and confidence by Shakura Dickson.  At one point the Red Queen is instructing Alice on the rules and how to be a Queen.

She sings about taking charge:

“So you think you wanna be a Queen…

You gotta work the system, play within it

Words of wisdom work within em’

Wait to finish, don’t diminish

You’ll need a whole lot of nerve….

Take what you earn, don’t brake and don’t burn

They want service…

From fist’ll just make em  nervous

When they get nervous they wanna hurt us

Take back our space like we don’t deserve trust.

Gotta be cool. Gotta be cool. These are the Queen’s rules.”

The lyrics initially speak to being confident but then they get more pointed and seem to be subtly referring to something deeper—that reference to “When they get nervous they wanna hurt us, take back our space like we don’t deserve trust” is going into a whole deeper area reflected by this Queen.

Shakura Dickson is a strong singer/actress. There is such confidence and hauteur in this striking performance.  She is also Black. I think those lyrics are referencing Black Lives Matter and the issues that have been brought up in the past few years. Taking their place, their space and to be seen. Powerful.

But this year’s production brought new revelations in this second viewing. There is a beautiful, tender duet/scene with Alice and Caterpillar (a sweet and kind being as played by Ben Page) who is about to break out of their cocoon and change into a beautiful butterfly. Kudos to Ming Wong for her vibrant costumes.  The scene is as much about gender fluidity as it is about physically changing and growing.

But then there is a song at the end called “Questions” which explores their importance and has this lyric:

“DON’T BE AFRAID

THE THOUGHTS IN YOUR HEAD ARE IN EVERYONE’S

SOME NEVER ASK, SOME ONLY LISTEN TO SOMEONE ELSE

TRUST YOURSELF”

Considering the addictive hold the (anti)social media has on so many people who never question anything but just listen to “someone else,” that lyric above is profound.

At the centre of this wonderful production is Tess Benger as Alice,  innocent, precocious and experiences a different world from this particular Red Queen. I loved the juxtaposition. But Tess Benger also illuminates Alice’s resolve, her perception, kindness, thoughtful tenacity and a young wisdom. Alice sees two clocks in her classroom that indicate different times, and she wants to know why they are different and which one should she trust for the actual time. Her curiosity is engaging and charming.

Sue Miner has directed this with an intoxicating whimsy and a keen eye for detail. Desks are moved and frames are used to change scenes and reflect a reflective world. To suggest that Alice is going down the rabbit hole, Alice is surrounded by the moveable desks of the classroom that her friends move around her, suggesting movement downward. To suggest Alice is growing she stands on a desk and various frames are arranged in such a way to suggest Alice is larger in size. Terrific images. Sue Miner has directed a production that is wonderfully detailed, madcap, buoyant, vibrant, very inventive and heartfelt. She also adds a wonderful comment at the end of her programme note: “Keep asking questions, small and large. Because with curiosity and kindness, the world, which is going through a bit of a tender time these days, cannot help but be a better place. Happy Holiday season to you and those you love.” Perfect.

This is a dandy production of Alice in Wonderland from Bad Hats that reflects our changing world. It has grown in fearlessness and depth since last year. It will appeal to families with teenagers or even younger kids. It asks questions like: who are we? What will become of us? What do you want to be?  Questions that are asked from one generation to another. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing this glorious production.

Soulpepper presents Bad Hats Theatre’s production:

Plays until January 7, 2024.

Running Time: 85 minutes (no intermission)

 www.soulpepper.ca

NOTE: Respectful comments are accepted on this site as long as they are accompanied by a verifiable name and a verifiable e-mail address. Posts that are slanderous, libelous or personally derogatory will not be approved.

{ 0 comments }