Search: Dark Heart

At Unit 102 Theatre, 376 Dufferin St. Toronto, Ont.

Written by Adam Rapp
Directed by Anne van Leeuwen
Set by Pascal Labillios
Lighting by Steve Vargo
Sound by Tim Lindsay
Cast: Luis Fernandes
Omar Hady
Chloe J. Sullivan

A bracing, sometimes unwieldy play by prolific American playwright, Adam Rapp.

The Story. Two friends—Davis and Matt–are on vacation in Amsterdam. Davis is a smooth-talking, macho, womanizer always on the hunt for the next sexual experience, never mind that he’s engaged. Fidelity is not one of Davis’s strong points. Davis is a hot-shot book editor who got lucky with one book and now his star is rising. Matt is his insecure, twitchy, sad, fragile-minded friend who is struggling to be a playwright. He’s very unlucky with women. Christina is the hooker Davis saw in one of the ‘windows’ in the Red Light District of Amsterdam. He engages Christina to spend the night with Matt to make him feel better about himself. Davis of course tries her out first to see that she passes muster.

The Production. The play opens on Matt trying to write and not being able to do it. He’s having a bad time. While he and Davis share a hotel room, I thought it spoke volumes that Matt’s bed is neatly made and Davis’s is not. Perhaps I’m looking too hard here—would the housekeeping staff have made Matt’s bed and not Davis’s? I thought it an interesting touch in Pascal Labillois’s set and in Anne Van Leeuwen’s direction.

Davis just doesn’t quietly enter a room when he can charge in like a martial arts warrior, complete with ear-splitting cry. He weaves; he bobs; he talks a mile-a-minute, with esoteric, literary references to show off his intellect; he makes fun of Matt. And he brings Christina with him. Davis comes on to her. She is charmed by him. When they had sex earlier she thought he was kind. In an interesting way, Rapp has turned the tables here. Usually it’s the hooker who puts on a good show to make the customer think that he is so special. Here it’s Christina who thinks she’s special to Davis.

When Matt and Christina are left alone, Matt pours out his heart to her and feels that he has made her think well of him, differently than she does with other customers. The audience knows the truth in both cases. Davis is the focus for both Matt and Christina. They both love him in their own way. It’s clear what he thinks of them.

The performances go to the heart of each character. As Davis, Luis Fernandes is a prowling, dangerous, predator. He knows how to move in close to appear interested and sensual when it comes to Christina, and he knows how to mess with Matt’s head to twist him up in his own fragile mind. As Matt, Omar Hady has a haunted look; twitchy demeanour, and the manner of a man ravaged by doubt and insecurity. Christina is common to both of them, and as played by Chloe J. Sullivan, she is sexually alluring to Davis and more compassionate to Matt in their various meetings. Director Anne van Leeuwen has created a tight ensemble that mines the various layers in Rapp’s play.

However, I found the ending muddy. Matt thinks that Christina has left him, yet her bag is on the floor by his leg. Does he not see it? Is this a mistake? Is it left there on purpose and he still thinks she’s gone? Confusing.

Comment. Adam Rapp wrote Red Light Winter in 2006, in his mid-career. It was considered for a Pulitzer Prize. It has all the engaging hallmarks of his work; dark subject matter; flawed characters and dialogue that is compelling, ‘crunchy’ and dazzling in its turns of phrase. He’s not afraid to create a character like Davis who, on the surface, is a charmer, but in reality is a despicable creep, without redeeming qualities.

At times it seems less like the character of Davis is speaking and more like the playwright is showing off—Davis does tend to riff on his own linguistically brilliance. And at times Rapp does go off on a tangent when some judicious cutting would be in order. But he does know how to get to the wounded heart of a character. For example, Matt has a speech in Act II expressing his longing for Christina that is heart squeezing.

Another compelling production by Unit 102.

Presented by Unit 102 Actors Company

Opened: Jan. 12, 2016
Closes: Jan. 23, 2016
Cast: 3; 2 men, 1 woman.
Running Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes.

Tickets: unit102tix@gmail.com

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Part of the Next Stage Theatre Festival.

At the Factory Theatre

Written and co directed by Paul Van Dyck
Co-directed by Sara Rodriquez
Set by Peter Vatsis
Costumes by Melanie Michaud
Lighting by Jody Burkholder
Cast: David Baby
Julia Borsellino
Eric Davis
Patricia Summersett
Paul Van Dyck
Alex Weiner

A wild and woolly western with quick on the draw dialogue, engaging storytelling and a final scene that has you gasping for air. Mighty fine goin’ there, partner.

The Story. The Jackson gang (composed of Jackson and Mitchell) have committed a robbery. Jackson celebrated by engaging Cassandra, one of the local ladies in some nightly relaxation. Come morning Jackson, Cassandra and the money are gone. Mitchell, the sheriff and Iris, Cassandra’s sister, go looking for them. They didn’t count on what they found.

The Production. Writer Paul Van Dyck has a wonderful facility with language and can conjure the world of the Wild West. It’s a combination of courtly and Wild West speech. There are turns of phrases right off the range. There is a scene that is so full of tension—guns are pointing at several people. The dialogue and volume are ramped up. That thumping you hear is your heart that ramps up too, wondering how this will end.

The production is co-directed by Paul Van Wyck (who also plays a part) and Sara Rodriqguez. Two directors? Yes and you will see why that’s necessary. The timing, the pacing and the escalating angst culminate in a rip-roaring scene that is both harrowing and hilarious. Van Wyck as a writer has a dandy imagination and a sense of the macabre.

As Mitchell, Eric Davis is the strong silent type that sassy women like Iris find attractive. When he does talk it’s articulate, thoughtful, and controlled. As Iris, Patricia Summersett is confident, sensual and pines for Mitchell. She is also caring and protective of her sister Cassandra. As Cassandra, Julia Borsellino has her secrets and they are revealed ever so slowly. The cast is fine. The production is a romp.

All Our Yesterdays

Written and directed by Chloé Hung
Set by Frank Teo
Sound by Gordon Hyland
Costumes by Ling-Yee Chee
Cast: Chiamaka Umeh
Amanda Weise

An interesting idea until it goes haywire at the halfway point and continues to become more and more eyebrow-knitting. A ruthless re-write is in order.

The Story. Ladi and Hasana are sisters. Ladi is the oldest. They live in Nigeria. They have been kidnapped together by Boko Haram. Ladi has been sexually assaulted and it appears she is to be married to one of their kidnappers. They are both kept in his hut. The play flits from the present to scenes of their memory. Both girls fret about what to do. Hasana has a plan. It’s drastic.

The Production. The set bare. The girls sit on the floor. Ladi was thought to be bright enough to go to school. Hasana was not thought to be smart enough and was kept at home. In the hut though, in the present, she shows she is fascinated with numbers, figures, astronomy, literature when connected with numbers. She is constantly drawing circles on the floor for the planets’ orbits; noting numbers and their importance. As Hasana, Chiamaka Umeh is focused, driven, in control, in command of the situation, and you believe she could get them out of this mess.

She does not like to be touched, so there is a suggestion Hasana is autistic. There is a note in the Next Stage Theatre Festival brochure that suggests that. She certainly is focused on figures. What is also clear is that she is whip-smart; quick thinking, and therefore not what we are told she is, namely, not smart. Hmm, a puzzlement.

Ladi, on the other hand naturally frets about having to marry one of the captors they call “ugly goat.” Ladi is obviously not as smart as her sister and doesn’t make decisions easily. Indeed because of how Chloé Hung has written and directed the character and how Amanda Weise has to play her, Ladi’s last act doesn’t ring true. Another puzzlement.

Hung also reveals another stunning revelation involving Hasana that comes from no where. Again, eyebrow-knitting.

Comment. All Our Yesterdays won the 2015 Toronto Fringe Patron’s Pick. And as Next Stage suggests this gives the production a chance to go to the next stage. For me that would mean to fix the glaring errors in the storytelling. That doesn’t seem to have been done. One wonders why? I guess when the patrons pick you as their favourite no improvement is necessary. Think again, please.

There is a hole in the play that you can drive a tractor through. We learn half-way through that Ladi did something startling. It comes from no where, substantiated by nothing. We hear more and more information after the fact that tries to support Ladi’s startling decision. The information is ill-placed. Even if the play flits back and forth from the past to the present there should be some clues in the memory scenes that support the future. Playwright Chloé Hung’s placement of this information is ill-conceived.

I can appreciate wanting to investigate the horror of the Boko Haram kidnappings and their implications. Chloé Hung touches on a women’s position in Nigerian culture; gender issues; how women are treated; sibling rivalry etc. I just wish that this play lived up to its hype. It needs a serious re-write to make any sense and not just to play on the emotions as a result of the event.

A Man Walks Into A Bar

Written by Rachel Blair
Directed by David Matheson
Lighting by Siobhán Sleath
Cast: Rachel Blair
Blue Bigwood-Mallin

A play that goes from being annoying to disturbing.

The Story and Production. The Woman wants to tell her joke about a man who walks into a bar. The Man offers suggestions on how to flesh out the story behind the joke. The Man wants The Woman to describe the man who walks into the bar. They re-enact the story. The man walks into the bar and a waitress (The Woman) serves him; chats him up etc. He comes back several times. There are more interactions. It looks like the man in the bar is interested in the waitress. As The Man offers The Woman more suggestions on how to tell the story and play the roles, the roles become blurred. Is it the man in the bar who is offended by the waitress’ attitude towards him, or is it The Man who is offended by The Woman telling a joke in which the man is the butt of the joke? Matters turn creepy as the play turns darker.

As The Woman, Rachel Blair is breezy and accommodating. As The Man, Blue Bigwood-Mallin flashes a toothy smile and a bit of a swagger. I don’t believe his bonhomie. There is a bar. The body language of each suggests a familiarity of the characters as time goes on. But when the play takes a darker turn, the body language becomes something else. The audience is taken to a darker place.

Comment. In her program note playwright Rachel Blair said that she originally wrote the play in anger. She was angry because she was ‘struggling to be heard, struggling to move past issues that you wish had been solved decades ago.” I read this to mean gender issues; men/women issues and perceptions.

I say at the beginning that the play is annoying. That’s because both The Woman and The Man feel it necessary to deconstruct the joke to its many and various components. Why they would think the audience needs to see it is a question. That it leads to the darker side of the story is perhaps the reason for lulling us with all the minutiae of the joke. It’s an interesting exercise. What is clear is that neither The Man nor The Woman understands how to tell a joke, or how to take one.

Presented by Next Stage Theatre Festival

At the Factory Theatre until January 17.

www.fringetoronto.com

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2015 Tootsie Awards

I don’t do top 10 lists of the best theatre, performances of the year. I do The Tootsie Awards that are personal, eclectic, whimsical and totally heartfelt. As many of you know for years I have given out Tootsie Pops to people in the theatre as a way of saying ‘thank you for making the theatre so special for me.’ Last year I created the Tootsie Awards as a public shout-out to those folks I thought went above and beyond the call.

Here are this year’s winners:

PEOPLE

The Guts of a Bandit Award

Prince Amponsah

He survived a devastating fire in 2012 and overcame horrible burns to his body to heal and get back to acting. He played the mysterious and elegant Drogheda, the Angel bringing news of doom, in the Desiderata Theatre’s production of Lot and His God.

Diana Bentley and Ted Dykstra curators of Coal Mine Theatre

For not cancelling their production of The River when they learned only one month before rehearsals were to begin that their theatre would be under renovation and unavailable. In short order they found a new venue, moved in with the help of the theatre community and opened their splendid production on time.

Mitchell Cushman and Julie Tepperman

They conceived, wrote and directed Brantwood 1920 – 2020, a huge project that illuminated the history of the fictional Brantwood High School and its students, over a 100 year span. This was the final year project of the acting students at Sheridan College. It was sites specific in an abandoned building and refitted perfectly to a school. And it was a musical. And terrific.

The John Harvey/Leonard/McHardy Mensch Award
(Named after John Harvey and Leonard McHardy who gave us TheatreBooks for 40 years and showed us what class, graciousness and being a mensch was all about)

To the Toronto Theatre Community

They came together and helped The Coal Mine move its production of The River up the Danforth from its former venue to its new one when the company was suddenly told a month before rehearsals began, that the space would be extensively renovated and unavailable.

Harrison Thomas

The director of Lot and his God for casting Prince Ampansah as Drogheda, the Angel bringing news of doom. Ampansah survived a horrific fire in 2012. His wounds were devastating but his talent still burns bright.

Steve Fisher

Writer for The Torontoist and @GracingTheStage for spearheading a campaign to make Brantwood 1920-2020 eligible for Dora Award consideration. Since it was the final student production of the graduating acting class at Sheridan College and not a professional company that was a member of TAPA, it wasn’t eligible. But Fisher prevailed, organized a write in campaign, and that glorious, mammoth, site-specific production won the Audience Choice Award for Outstanding Production.

The One(s) to Watch Award

Sina Gilani

For his quiet, watchful, dangerous performance in The 20th of November, of a young man who went to his high school one morning and opened fire with an arsenal of weapons. It played at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre. Chilling.

Charlotte Dennis

She played the emotional, flirty, impish Maid in Boston Marriage produced by Headstrong Theatre Company at the Campbell House Museum. She was focused, unflappable playing at such close quarters to the audience and totally in the moment.

Please Don’t Go Award

Brendan Healy

He stepped down as Artistic Director of Buddies in Bad Times Theatre after six years of producing and directing provocative challenging and stunning work that always pricked the imagination and curiosity of his audiences. He is seeking other challenges by enrolling in an international arts administration course that will take him to Texas, Milan and Montreal.

Ross Petty

The force behind the fractured fairy-tales family fare musicals that have been delighting audiences for more than 20 years, is taking his collection of glue-on beards, his lipstick and falsies as he withdraws from performing the characters we love to boo. He plays Captain Hook in Peter Pan in Wonderland this year. He will occupy his time next year producing the shows.

They Engage Our Younger Audiences Award

Lynda Hill

Artistic Director of Theatre Direct that introduces young children to the wonderful world of theatre and its etiquette by producing sweet, thoughtful works such as Beneath the Banyan Tree.

Allen MacInnis

Artistic Director of Young People’s Theatre who programs plays that speak universally to young people anywhere. Plays such as: Hana’s Suitcase, Jacob Two-Two Meets the Hooded Fang and P@ndora dealt with the holocaust; being a little kid trying to be heard in a large family; and the challenges of teens dealing with their budding sexuality and peer pressure.

Puppetmongers

Ann and David Powell are the brother and sister co-creators of this wonderful puppet company that produces shows that are sweet gems. The present case in point is Cinderella in Muddy York that relocates the celebrated story to Muddy York (before it was called Toronto). The puppets are charming and Ann and David Powell add their own wit and whimsy to the proceedings.

They Can Do Anything Award

Kawa Ada

He played the wild man of a thousand stories in The Accidental Death of an Anarchist and Apsara, the elegant, beautifully graceful young woman dancer in Bombay Black. And he choreographed the dancing as well.

David Ferry

He conceived of the idea and directed the wonderful production of The Postman about Albert Jackson, Canada’s first black postman. The audience followed the action along selected streets in Toronto as scenes took place on various porches. And as an actor he gave a layered, compelling performance in the Coal Mine Theatre’s production of The River, and provided a lesson in how to gut, dress and cook a fish as well.

Daren A. Herbert

For his tough performance as Burns in The Wild Party for Theatre20 and his playing of all the characters in Stop the World I Want to Get Off including Littlechap and his wife for Talk is Free Theatre in Barrie, Ont. Herbert sings like a dream and has the acting chops that could cast him in anything.

He Found His Bliss Award

Gil Garratt

Artistic Director of the Blyth Festival, a job for which he is perfectly suited. He carries on the tradition of doing original Canadian works but in his first year on the job has raised the standard with such productions as Fury and Mary’s Wedding (which he also directed). Next year he has programmed four world premiers.

They Rocked My World Award

Franco Boni and Ravi Jain

Franco Boni is Artistic Director of The Theatre Centre and Ravi Jain is Artistic Director of Why Not Theatre, for producing three brilliant productions as part of the November Ticket: Butcher by Nicolas Billon, We Are Proud To Present… by Jackie Sibblies Drury, and Late Company by Jordan Tannahill. Producing just one of these with such quality is an accomplishment. Two is great fortune. Three is just brilliance.

Antoni Cimolino

Artistic Director of the Stratford Festival for keeping the bar of quality high with his mix of actors, directors and creative teams to produce such productions as: Hamlet, The Taming of the Shrew, She Stoops to Conquer, The Alchemist, The Physicists and The Last Wife, to name a few. And the many forums and discussions aimed at engaging the audience.

Peter Hinton

For his re-imagining of Pygmalion at the Shaw Festival in which Higgins is still smug and self-absorbed but is terribly shaken when Eliza leaves and Eliza is compassionate but strong-willed and knows her worth; and his exquisite direction in Bombay Black for the Factory Theatre’s Naked season. He created the world of the play with perfect casting and the most exquisite lighting (Jennifer Lennon).

Eda Holmes

For her meticulous, throat-grabbing direction of The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures, a sell-out hit at the Shaw Festival and for a change of pace, Tom at the Farm, a deeply moving play about loss and coming to terms with it and who you are. Eda Holmes made both plays resonate with her stunning direction.

Jackie Maxwell

Artistic Director of the Shaw Festival who continues her archaeology by finding gems such as The Twelve Pound Look, a play about marriage, assumption and the importance of women earning their own money, and maintaining the high level of quality of the Festival as a whole.

Don Shipley

The Creative Director, Arts and Cultural, PANAMANIA, and Special Event. Who programmed 35 days of challenging, provocative theatre, dance and musical events from here and abroad as the cultural component of the Pan Am Games. He commissioned many Canadian works, for example: The Watershed, The Postman, Gimme Shelter, 887 (this last from Robert Lepage) and brought the wonderful Ping Chong from the States to create and direct PUSH, stories from athletes with physical challenges.

What Were You Thinking Award

To the well-meaning but misguided indie theatre creators (both novices and veterans)

Who scheduled their shows to open for short runs in the same two weeks in November (16 openings in one week, 14 in another) thus saturating the already packed theatre scene and making it impossible for audiences to see it all. I ask you, “What were you thinking??” Don’t you talk to each other to find out who’s doing what when and can plan accordingly? Don’t you want people to see your shows? My calendar has 12 months in it, not just November. How about yours?

PRODUCTIONS

The Heart in the Darkness Award

Yours Forever, Marie-Lou

Diana Leblanc directed this new translation for Soulpepper Theatre Company and realized the sad, beating heart of the play, not just the raging anger of the characters. It resulted in a tender, compassionate production that still shook you to your bones, but you truly understood the disappointment of the characters as well.

The Perfect Collaboration Award

Butcher

Nicolas Billon is the playwright and Weyni Mengesha is the director who both worked seamlessly to create a production that gripped the audience’s imagination and sphincter. Part of The November Ticket at the Theatre Centre.

The Best End of Year Present Award

The Chasse-Galerie

The foot-stomping, hand-clapping, whiskey soaked joyous production from Red One Theatre Collective. Based on the old French Canadian tale about four guys who sell their souls to the devil to go to Montreal in a flying canoe but with a twist. This is 2015 eh, so the guys are now women, the devil is still dastardly but they get him.

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The following review was broadcast on Friday, Dec. 25, 2015. CIUT FRIDAY MORNING, 89.5 fm. Parfumerie at the Bluma Appel Theatre, produced by Soulpepper Theatre Company. Until Dec. 27, 2015.

The host was Phil Taylor

(PHIL)
Good Friday Christmas morning. It theatre fix time with Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and passionate playgoer. Happy Holidays. What do you have for us today?

(LYNN)
I have both a theatrical present and a sweet confection and they are the same play—Parfumerie. It’s a Soulpepper Theatre Company production, but it’s playing at the Bluma Appel Theatre for the holiday season. The production has played before. And while many of the original cast are returning to their roles a few people are new. That makes them worth another visit. I saw it this week.

(PHIL)
What’s the story?

(LYNN)
Some background first. It was written in 1937 by Hungarian writer, Miklós László. It has been adapted into three films and a Broadway musical. For our purposes Canadians Adam Pettle and Brenda Robins have adapted it for Soulpepper Theatre Company. Adam Pettle is a playwright in his own right and Brenda Robins is a noted actress, who also plays in this production.

It takes place in a perfume shop. George Asztalos and Rosie Balaz are two of the several people who work there and they hate each other. They just rub each other the wrong way.

Both are single and lonely but both have a special someone they’ve never met. They both have been writing to a pen pal. They don’t even know the name of the person to whom they are writing. They begin their letters, “Dear Friend” and send it to a post office box number. Over more than a year of writing to their respective friend they fall in love with the person. They plan to meet….

Whether it’s called Parfumerie or The Shop Around the Corner or You’ve Got Mail (two movies based on the play) you know where the story is going—George and Rosie, who hate each other in the store, are writing to each other and they don’t know it, and falling in love. But it’s not as sickeningly sweet as you would think.

(PHIL)
How so?

(LYNN)
There’s a bit of heartache in there to keep things hopping. Mr. Hammerschmidt, who owns the perfume store, is on edge and the staff think he’s having trouble at home. He’s short tempered with the staff and that leads to some terrible decisions. Emotions are fragile and the various staff-members try to keep calm and carry on. But it is hard.

(PHIL)
With two Canadians doing the adapting, has the original Hungarian flavour been changed to be more Canadian?

(LYNN)
I don’t think so. The names are decidedly Hungarian. There is a formality to the dialogue but at the same time it has an impishness to it. Adam Pettle is an accomplished playwright who knows how to create a joke. Brenda Robins is a wonderful actress who knows how to float and time a joke. Their work together on this script is a meeting of two very creative minds. They riff off each other.

And Ken MacDonald’s set has that old world elegance, all pastel colours and ornate design, and also looks delicious.

(PHIL)
Delicious? How so?

(LYNN)
At times it looks like one large marzipan/chocolate confection. For example, MacDonald has a formation of brown strokes upstage. It looks like two people reaching out to the other—lovers reaching out. Or if you have a warped sense of imagination like mine, it could look like ornate swirls of chocolate. Dana Osborne’s costumes are beautiful and of the period.

It’s directed by Morris Panych, with his usual flair and dizzying imagination when it comes to humour. Panych is also a terrific playwright and he knows the value of dark humour. So while there is a lot of physical humour it’s mixed with the subtlety that accompanies fragile emotions. There are so many characters in Parfumerie who look longingly on others who don’t notice them. Panych mines this rich emotional vein with bitter-sweet, funny results.

He also knows to play up moments by having two wandering musicians—Anna Atkinson on violin and Gordon Hecht on accordion—introduce scenes with their music and sometimes send up a scene with their playing. Lovely touch.

(PHIL)
How about the acting?

(LYNN)
Gregory Prest plays George with a heightened anxiety and an effort to keep his cool. This is such a courtly actor; he brings out the grace of George.

Michelle Monteith plays Rosie with spunk and wit. She won’t take any insults from George and he gives as good as she does. Joseph Ziegler plays the troubled Mr. Hammerschmidt. He’s stooped, world-weary and frets. As Arpad, a harried office boy, Jeff Lillico brings an attentive sweetness to the role. Arpad looks on Mr. Hammerschmidt as a father figure and wants to do right by him. The play is full of characters who care about each other and treat each other for the most part, like family.

Parfumerie is a charming production, well done, and perfect for the holidays. So slap on some Jo Malone cologne and see Parfumerie.

(PHIL)
Thanks Lynn. That’s Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and passionate playgoer. You can read Lynn’s Blog at www.slotkinletter.com twitter @slotkinletter.

Parfumerie plays at the Bluma Appel Theatre until Sunday, Dec. 27.

www.soulpepper.ca

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The following two reviews were broadcast on Friday, Dec. 4, 2015. CIUT FRIDAY MORNING, 89.5 fm. Wormwood at the Tarragon Theatre until December 20, 2015 and Peter Pan in Wonderland at the Elgin Theatre until January 3, 2016.

(PHIL)
Good Friday morning. It’s theatre fix time with Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and passionate playgoer. What treats do you have in store for us today?

(LYNN)
Two shows. One sobering and one hilarious. First Wormwood by Andrew Kushnir at the Tarragon Theatre, Mainspace.

It’s a very ambitious play, billed as a love-story, a Canadian-Ukrainian-Russian fantasia about Ukraine, its history with its invaders and focuses on the general election of 2004 when Canadian observers went to Ukraine to see that the election was conducted properly.

And then we have Peter Pan in Wonderland at the Elgin Theatre—Ross Petty’s annual Family Musical Panto-monium with a bit of a sad twist.

(PHIL)
Ok, let’s start with Wormwood. Besides being ambitious it also sounds dense.

(LYNN)
It certainly is. The program is loaded with information such as a glossary of terms used during the play; background of the Orange Revolution; an essay on the corrupt general election of 2004; a chronology of the Orange Revolution; notes on the Ukraine Crisis of 2013-14

There is a whole essay from Andrew Kushnir on his upbringing as a Canadian-Ukrainian and how he came to embrace that country as his home away from home, among other thoughts on the place. Your head is swimming with facts and the play hadn’t even started yet.

(PHIL)
What is the play about?

(LYNN)
It’s 2004. Ukraine will have its election and impartial observers were coming to see that the election was conducted fairly. Ivan and his brother Markiyan, two Canadian-Ukrainians, volunteer to oversee the voting.

When they arrive they are met by The Professor who takes them to his house for billeting. Markiyan balks at this. They were to be put in a hotel. The smooth-talking Professor explains why they have to be separated.

So Ivan stays in the Professor’s house being tended by the one-eyed Housekeeper and her daughter, or are they really The Professor’s wife and daughter—they could be both. In short order Ivan is beaten up and robbed of his passport; gets sick and sleeps for most of his stay; revives long enough to see from his bedroom window, a gorgeous woman named Artemisia in the walled garden below and falls in love with her; he meets her and finds that she’s mute but still woos her; and Ivan learns about the complicated history of Ukraine where neighbours can be political and ideological enemies; the Russian influence is very heavy; there are references to Chernobyl.

Kushnir calls this a love-story and it can be taken on many levels. It’s his love story for a country he has grown up learning about from his Ukrainian family. It’s the love story of Ivan and Artemisia. We also learn that the housekeeper’s daughter loves Ivan and The Professor had hoped that Ivan would fall in love with the daughter and take her to Canada.

(PHIL)
Do you think the play is successful in presenting its story and telling you about this complex history of Ukraine?

(LYNN)
I think playwright Andrew Kushnir’s intentions are honourable in trying to tell this history and story. Every word is obviously precious to him. And quite often the writing is so sensitively poetic. But I think the whole enterprise got away from him. So much of the story didn’t make sense, even if you do try to accommodate the fairy-tale, mythic aspect of it.

Ivan seems to be held captive in that house, so why steal his passport? He’s not bright enough even to find his way out of this room and misses many election preparations yet doesn’t seem to be concerned, really.

The Housekeeper has to be shown how to get down from his window to the garden—she ties two sheets together that will hook on to a hook and the other end is thrown out the window—down which he slides.

When he meets Artemisia, she is mute. Ivan carries on both sides of the conversation. He asks her a question. She might raise an eyebrow or her hand and he fashions a whole conversation out of it as if he can understand her. Mystifying. I don’t think Kushnir has written Ivan deeply enough to come up with a credible character, and truth to tell Luke Humphrey’s playing of Ivan just seems flat, without depth or detail. And I found the production stopped before it started.

(PHIL)
What does that mean?

(LYNN)
It means this; the narrator called The Kobzar tells the story. He begins by saying that one should start these things with a cute joke. He tries to remember the cute and confesses that he can’t remember it; so he stands there telling us we will wait until it comes. And we wait. And we wait. And finally he forgets the waiting and begins the story.

In a play that is 2 ½ hours long, that is just a self-indulgent waste of time. I think that perhaps the play will end with him finally remembering the cute joke. But he doesn’t. Annoying.

(PHIL)
Was the production as annoying as you found the play?

(LYNN)
No. Director Richard Rose has created a production with strong acting, for the most part, that tries to make sense of this dense work.

To capture the mystery of Ukraine, many characters speak in Russian and Ukrainian without any translation or surtitles. Ivan does a bit of translation of the Ukrainian but the audience is in the dark because there are no surtitles. This is deliberate and so we go with the flow.

Ben Campbell plays The Professor with swagger and bravado. Scott Wentworth plays The Kobzar with a folksy charm; and he plays The Doctor, Artemisia’s father, with a quiet dignity and fierce protection. Nancy Palk is the one-eyed Housekeeper who is impish and meddling. She’s hilarious. There is a lot of singing of Ukrainian folk songs and it’s glorious.

I think there is a play here, it just needs to be cut down drastically so that it makes sense.

(PHIL)
And now for Peter Pan In Wonderland.

(LYNN)
This is the annual Ross Petty Family Musical Panto-monium. Fairy tales are fractured, re-worked, infused with lots of local references and some irreverent social commentary and Ross Petty always plays the villain.

In this one Wendy and Peter Pan re-unite but find that Captain Hook might be near. He sent Wendy a chest of goodies that is a trap. Wendy and Peter find themselves sliding into wonderland where they meet Alice, some thugs, the Queen of Hearts, Smee and Tinkerbum, because Tinkerbell was busy.

Captain Hook wants to possess the Queen of Heart’s Tickle Trunk of Wonder which when opened will deplete the world of imagination. Then he can over come everyone and rule the world, which is his life’s ambition. Our life’s ambition is to boo Captain Hook with every single entrance.

(PHIL)
These happen every year. Is there a formula?

(LYNN)
I think there is a general format. It’s based on fairy tales with a Canadian flavour. There are lots of topical songs sung with gusto and verve. Dancing, prancing, starring the latest up and coming young talent.

The script is by Chris Earle. The choreography by Marc Kimelman is lively and energetic. Michael Gianfrancesco and his projection designers (Ben Chaisson and Beth Kates) have created the most glittery, dazzling set in years. Tracey Flye has directed this with energy and a constant swirl of activity.

The cast is made of such stalwarts as Eddie Glenn as an impish Smee; Jessica Holmes with a wonderful speech impediment and attitude plays a sassy Queen of Hearts; Anthony MacPherson is a buoyant Peter Pan. As Tinkerbum, Dan Chameroy is his high-camp self.

Of course Ross Petty plays Captain Hook with a sneer and a smile. The audience boos him; he leers at us. It’s a perfect melding of actor and audience doing their best work in synch.

(PHIL)
You say there is a sad twist. What is it?

(LYNN)
Russ Petty is retiring from performing in his Pantomimes in future. He’s hanging up his false-beards; his falsies—he often plays women in drag—his tight pants and high boots, his lipstick and just devote himself to producing the shows.

He always makes a curtain speech at the end and this one was quite emotional. He says he’ll miss doing these shows. We certainly will miss him. I sure will. I got my make-up tips from him.

(PHIL)
Thanks Lynn. That’s Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and passionate playgoer. You can read Lynn’s blog at www.slotkinletter.com twitter@slotkinletter.

Wormwood plays at the Tarragon Theatre until December 20.

www.tarragontheatre.com

Peter Pan in Wonderland plays at the Elgin Theatre until January 3.

www.rosspetty.com

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At the Coal Mine Theatre, 982 Danforth Ave. Toronto, Ont.

Written by Jez Butterworth
Directed by Ted Dykstra
Set and lighting by Steve Lucas
Costumes by Ming Wong
Sound by Creighton Doane
Cast: David Ferry
Dani Kind
Jane Spidell

A shimmering, subtle play and production that seduces you like a spider to a fly and you are caught in its web of mystery before you know it.

The Story. A man invites his girlfriend (The Woman) to his remote fishing cabin to go night fishing for the elusive sea trout. It’s the night before the new moon which means there is no moon, and it’s the perfect time for fishing for the sea trout. It happens once a year and this night is it. She wants to read her book because it began to be good. He’s insistent and enthusiastic. She goes with him. Something goes wrong. He loses her in the dark. She gets lost. He’s frantic. The police are called but then she returns. It’s not The Woman. It’s The Other Woman. And things spiral from there.

The Production. Designer, Steve Lucas has designed a rustic cabin. The play is set in the kitchen; pine table set at an angle, two chairs, another chair stage left, behind which is a door to outside. There is a cot just down from the door. Off right is a door to the bedroom. The Woman delicately straightens the table from its angle. She notices the sunset and insists The Man come and see it. He is quickly checking his gear, urging her to get dressed so they can go fishing. He has been trying to teach her to fly fish for this very night. He has seen the sunset and they are all the same. She insists he describe it. He does, in the most delicate of poetic language.

In the next scene The Man is frantic. He has lost her in the dark. He calls the police and says he called out to her but she’s disappeared in the dark He describes her. My eyebrows knit. It’s not the description of The Woman we saw. Then she appears. It’s The Other Woman, and does fit the description—thirty and slim. The first woman is older, closer to the age of The Man, and she’s fleshier. The Man says to The Other Woman that he called the police he was so frantic. They were going to send a helicopter to look for her. My eye-brows knit again. That’s not the conversation (or half of it) that we hear.

Playwright Jez Butterworth makes you listen very hard because nothing is what it seems. Lies appear effortlessly from every character, innocuously, sometimes to protect the other person, but still lies. Trying to find the truth is like trying to catch fish with your bare hands.

Where is the truth? In director Ted Dykstra’s beautifully modulated, subtle production, the truth is anywhere you think it is. Are those women real? Are they the same woman even though they don’t look the same? Is Butterworth equating these elusive women with the fish that The Man is determined to catch on this one night, or are the women like the fish that got away? Dykstra’s even hand in his direction has us watching the ping-pong of ideas and language from The Man to the two women at separate times, as we try and decide where the truth is.

While the story is elusive, the production is rooted in realism. A beautiful sea trout is caught but not by The Man. He guts it right in front of us; cuts off the head and tail and throws the stuff in the garbage. Then he puts the fish on a baking tray, scores the fish, seasons it, sloshes oil and wine on it; prepares onions and carrots; puts foil around the whole thing and puts it in the oven. (I don’t see him pre-heat the oven—but this is a quibble). Then by the miracle of theatre, the finished dish is done in mere minutes. The Man serves The Woman the perfectly cooked fish and they both dig in. It smells delicious.

Depending on where you sit in the small Coal Mine Theatre, you can be no more than a foot away from the action. The concentration of the actors never wavers. As The Man, David Ferry is both macho and sensitive. He takes Butterworth’s elegant dialogue about fishing and the thrill and shock of catching the sea trout, and conveys it with an almost child-like innocent enthusiasm. But then he can talk about the beauty of the sunset as a man with a poetic heart.

As The Woman, Jane Spidell is a women with her own secrets. She is womanly, confident in that relationship to be bossy but knows how to play The Man. As The Other Woman, Dani Kind has her own kind of allure. She is very cool when she might be found out in her own lies and adds a tease with a beautifully placed sense of humour.

Comment. Jez Butterworth’s play is as elusive and mystical as a story of the prized fish that got away. The language is so vivid yet poetical. The beauty of The River is that it’s not a typical “the fish that got away” story. Butterworth always adds a twist to his work; whether it’s the explosive Jerusalem or Mojo. With The River The Coal Mine Theatre has presented another gem of a production.

Presented by The Coal Mine Theatre.

Opened: Nov. 3, 2015.
Closes: Nov. 22, 2015.
Cast: 3, 1 man, 2 women
Running Time: 80 minutes.

www.coalminetheatre.com

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The Audrey Hepburn Photo Exhibit

How to feel absolutely inadequate? Simple: see the Audrey Hepburn exhibit of photographs chronicling her film career at the National Portrait Gallery in London.

I was urged to see this when I was there this past summer. The exhibit was hugely popular. It was a special exhibit. You had to pay to see it. The tickets were timed and when I waltzed in wanting to see it then! I was told I would have to come back the next day when tickets and times were available.

Bright and early the next day, well 10 am actually, I was there, along with the other hordes waiting for the Gallery to open. It was all very civilized. The exhibit was put together with the help of Hepburn’s two sons: Luca Dotti and Sean Hepburn Ferrer from many photographs in their personal collections and elsewhere.

Audrey Hepburn was photographed by some of the finest photographers in the world: Richard Avedon, Cecil Beaton, Terry O’Neill, Norman Parkinson and Irving Penn. Her designer of choice was Hubert de Givenchy.

The photos covered her career from the beginning when she was a dancer to her days performing in a cabaret in Piccadilly in London to the films. She seemed incapable of having a bad photo taken. Of course she was being photographed by the best in the world, but that ‘thing’, that quality that can’t be manufactured, was there in every single picture. Every single picture just made you smile. They covered her work in Sabrina, Roman Holiday, My Fair Lady, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Two for the Road, The Nun’s Story, Charade, Wait Until Dark, etc.

She was beautiful but not intimidatingly so. There are those people so beautiful you stand back in awe. Audrey Hepburn drew people in. She was impish, sophisticated, graceful, alluring and every photo suggested utter charm. She was a natural model. She knew how to wear clothes. The look was always arresting. That came out in photograph after photograph.

Something that heartened me—she had big feet. At the beginning of the exhibit where we learn about her early dancing days, there was one of her ballet slippers in a glass case. The slipper looked really big, perhaps a size 9? Don’t know but it looked big. As for the rest of the exhibit, glorious.

Two photos took my breath away. I’d never seen the first one. It was obviously taken at a formal affair. Hepburn was in a beautiful, elegant, red strapless gown designed by Givenchy, of course. The man himself stood behind her in a tux and at six feet six inches tall, towered over her. Both were smiling. His right arm curved around her shoulders with his hand resting on her left shoulder. Her right arm curved up so that her right hand rested on his arm. It was a pose of such gentleness, affection, tenderness and love that it left me smiling and stunned. The other photo was taken on one of her humanitarian tours to Africa. She wore casual jeans and a comfortable top. Her hair was pulled back in a pony tail. She wore no make-up. She was surrounded by smiling kids. Her smile broke my heart. She was suffering from the cancer that would eventually kill her. While her smile for the camera was broad it had that look that showed fear, concern, something that preoccupied her—her failing health. Is it a vein in the forehead? Is it a crease between the eyebrows or just a scared look in the eye? Don’t know but it was there. I’ve seen that look once before—with our own, beloved and sadly gone Gina Wilkinson, when she was battling the cancer that would take her as well. Two fearless women with the same fearful look, preoccupied, knowing they were dying.

These two photographs in the Audrey Hepburn exhibit showed the breadth and beauty of the woman; movie star, fashion icon, friend; a gracious, giving, joyful, humanitarian–caring, open-hearted and fearless. Both photos were reminders of what we lost when we lost Audrey Hepburn to cancer in 1993. Wonderful exhibit. Very moving.

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At 4th Line Theatre, Millbrook, Ont.

Written by Robert Winslow, Ben Henderson, Marianne Copithorne, Murray McCune & Edward Lyskeiwicz.
Directed by Kim Blackwell
Costumes by Anne Redish
Choreography by Monica Dottor
Performed by: Dian Marie Bridge
Alison J. Palmer
Jeff Schissler
Robert Winslow
Tim Ziegler

A rousing televangelist tv show complete with all the hucksterism one might expect and a dandy performance by Robert Winslow as the charismatic huckster himself.

The Story. Reverend Bobby Angel has brought his bible-thumping, sin-blasting televised revival meeting to a barnyard in Cavan Monaghan Township, Canada, 2015. Normally he tours the United States with his sermons against sin and evil ways, and now feels Canada could use his hell-fire and brimstone. He rails against everything from same-sex marriage to Twitter. He heals on cue. One of his followers is Dean Goodman. He was married but had cancer. He saw Reverend Angel on TV reaching out to him and so Dean left his good wife to follow the Reverend. Dean is convinced that his cancer is in remission as a result. But then Angel is challenged by an unbeliever and matters take a turn.

The Production. We are in the barnyard of a farm that looks like the idyllic setting for Winslow Farm, near Millbrook, Ont. The dark-suited Orville, all smiles and oozing good will and excitement, announces that Reverend Bobby Angel is on his way. Orville is a member of Angel’s flock and softens up the crowd with hymns and lame jokes. He is joined by his over-enthusiastic and over-made-up wife Tammy. She does a lot of the singing and dabs at her constantly runny mascara. Tammy cries a lot in sympathy for any sad or unhappy or even ordinary moments. Think Tammy Faye Baker, of course.

Both Orville and Tammy work the crowd, microphones in hand, until the Reverend arrives. He doesn’t need a fanfare since he arrives in style around the barn as he’s driven in an impressive limousine. Angel gets out of the car when the chauffeur comes around to open Angel’s door. Angel wears a dazzling white suit, white shoes and red tie. Playing him is Robert Winslow who is absolutely dashing, longish hair fluttering in the breeze.

Cameras are in the barnyard operated by two camera people, ready to record Angel’s every utterance. He checks to see where his camera is. He pumps the crowd; talks about the sin that is everywhere and definitely in that audience. He hears confessionals from Orvile, Tammy and a reluctant Dean.

He goes deep into the audience in search of lost souls who need healing. He finds one but this does not work out quite as he expected.

Director Kim Blackwell first directed this in 2002 when she was just starting out. She revisits the show displaying a sure hand and a keen sense of how to sell hokum. Both Orville (Jeff Schissler) and Tammy (Alison J. Palmer) are energetic and have that unctuous attitude that seems to go over big on TV. With Blackwell’s direction they really pour on the blarney. They perform Monica Dottor’s deliberately cheesy choreography (hilarious) with verve.

Robert Winslow at Reverend Bobby Angel is something else again. I have never seen Winslow so seemingly possessed by the ranting and raving of this compelling religious fake. He thumps his bible. He condemns to hell any sinner in the crown—and there are plenty of us. The words pour out of him in a torrent. He is almost possessed with his own fervour. Very impressive.

As Dean Goodman, Tim Ziegler seems meek, except when playing the keyboard. He gives a convincing speech about finding faith when he turned on the TV and saw Reverend Angel.

While Reverend Angel does find someone in the crowd to heal he is given a hard time. At last, someone who challenges him and questions his boast of healing sick people. I don’t think this goes far enough. Without giving anything away, to really work, and to unsettle the audience, I think the challenging character should have begun the questioning before being chosen from the audience, as a heckler. The point of Reverend Angel going into the audience is to find a person who looks like they needed healing. Only after that character is brought on stage do the challenges begin.

I think it would have worked better dramatically if the character caused a fuss and challenged Angel before being brought on stage. Then Angel could address the problem squarely by offering to address the doubt after the heckling on stage, his territory.

Comment. Gimme That Prime Time Religion is not like a usual 4th Line Theatre show. It is less a play that uses the history of the area and more a televangelist TV show that put the fear of damnation into the hearts of the audience but still asks for money for no purpose. Terrific performance from Robert Winslow, though.

Produced by 4th Line Theatre

Run: August 10 – 29, 2015
Cast: 10: 6 men, 4 women
Running Time: 1 hour, 45 minutes, no intermission

4thlinetheatre.con.ca

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The following review was broadcast on Friday, July 17, 2015. CIUT FRIDAY MORNING, 89.5 FM: The Postman plays until July 26.

The host was Phil Taylor.

(PHIL)
Good Friday morning. It’s theatre fix time with Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and passionate playgoer…who has returned from her travels in England. What have you seen since you returned?

(LYNN)
I saw The Postman last night. It’s part of Panamania, the cultural arm of the Pan Am Games. It’s a doozy of a piece of theatre.

(PHIL)
What makes it a doozy of a piece of theatre?

(LYNN)
The play is about Albert Jackson, born a slave in Milford, Delaware in 1856. He was the youngest of 9 children; two of his siblings were sold and the family never saw them again. His father died, probably of a broken heart and his mother, Ann Maria took the remaining 7 children north to Canada on the underground railroad. They found their way to St. Catharines but made their way to Toronto.

Albert was hired by the Postal Service but because of some racist co-workers was not allowed to do the job. The bigots would neither train nor work with Albert. He was relegated to sweeping the floor.

Not all characters were bigots and many friends gave him comfort, respect and caring. Finally Sir John A. MacDonald, the Prime Minister, got into the act…when he was promised that every black person in Toronto would vote for him, and ensured that
Albert Jackson got to do his postal duties delivering mail. Albert Jackson was Canada’s first black postman.

It’s a doozy of a piece because there are seven writers (Leah-Simone Bowen, Lisa Codrington, David Ferry, Roy Lewis, Andrew Moodie, Joseph Jomo Pierre, Sugith Varughese, ) so the co-ordination of the segments was mammoth.

There are 2 composers. (Brooke Blackburn, Saidah Baba Talibah)

A six piece band who play drums, banjo, guitar, violin, mouth organ and tuba. (Chris Blades, Matthew G. Brown, Raha Javanfar, Donovan Locke, Ngabo Nabea, Maurice Dean Wint)

13 actors (Claire Armstrong, Chris Blades, Matthew G. Brown, Layne Coleman, Karen Glave, Christo Graham, Birgilia Griffiths, Laurence Dean Ifill, Aisha Jarvis, Nicky Lawrence, Roy Lewis, Ngabo Nabea, Sugith Varughese, Maurice Dean Wint).

And it’s played outside on Brunswick Avenue, which was part of Albert Jackson’s postal route. The whole audience follows the characters and the band of musicians from porch to porch. Each address represents a place on Albert’s postal route, or it could be other locations, such as the postal delivery people’s union hall or a swish bar where back room deals are made. Or it could be a flashback of Albert’s life in Delaware.

(PHIL)
How big an audience is it?

(LYNN)
For mine last night I’d say about 50.

(PHIL)
The logistics must be complicated.

(LYNN)
I’d liken it to a well-oiled small extravaganza. We gather at a little park on Brunswick Ave. The band plays some music, blue grass (?), as we arrive. Albert Jackson, in postal uniform, handle-bar moustache and gleaming eyes arrives to tell us about his route.

As played by Laurence Dean Ifill, Albert Jackson is courtly, gracious and always takes the high road when faced with raging bigots. On cue the band moves out of the park and onto the sidewalk. We are guided by men and women in costumes of the day, 1850s – 1880s—to cross the street, or gather at various porches. We are gently urged to stay on the sidewalk and off the flowers in people’s gardens. Traffic is controlled by people with a stop sign paddle that is held up to stop cars from travelling down the street when a scene is going on. It’s all so wonderfully good natured and easy going. The singing especially is strong, full throated and full of joy and the pain of the situations.

One moment will stand out, Roy Lewis who plays several parts, beaming as he walked up the middle of the road on Brunswick singing in a powerful baritone voice. And he was followed by an equally buoyant audience.

This is not to suggest that The Postman is all sweetness and light

(PHIL)
I would imagine that a show in which Toronto the good is seen to have bigots in the 1880s that The Postman it’s darker moments.

(LYNN)
A middle aged (white) man behind me, audibly started when Albert was treated badly or bullied by a few of them. The man gasped, and fretted. I was tempted to turn around and say, “it’s only a play. Albert gets his job. People rallied and supported him. Times were ugly but also beautiful and warm-hearted. Lighten up!’

Albert as played beautifully by Ifill and directed with care and sensitivity by David Ferry, suggests that Albert always carried himself with dignity—that he was always trying to live up to his mother’s ideal.

(PHIL)
How did the play come about?

(LYNN)
Director David Ferry read about a group of people who were trying to get the city to ok naming a laneway after Albert Jackson. The laneway is close to Albert’s route. Then Ferry met with Don Shipley, the Creative Director of Panamania, and the play was commissioned about Albert Jackson. Ferry also met with 110 descendents of Jackson, all of whom gave their permission to go ahead with the idea. What a great idea—to perform the play along Albert Jackson’s postal route.

I have some quibbles, though. One is that there is no program to identify the players and band. I have extensive press information for which I’m grateful, but no actor is actually linked with any character. It doesn’t matter that some actors play many parts, I think they should be identified. And with so many writers there is a slight disjointed quality to the play with some segments being esoteric in their lyricism and other segments straightforward.

But all in all, I think The Postman is a glorious piece of theatre, and a terrific component of Panamania.

(PHIL)
Thanks Lynn. That’s Lynn Slotkin, our theatre critic and passionate playgoer.

You can read Lynn’s blog at www.slotkinletter.com
twitter@ slotkinletter.

The Postman plays on Brunswick Ave. until July 26, Please consult the show’s link at.

www.info.thepostmanwalks.com

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