I saw two great dramas last week, in Toronto: THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE, written by Kathy Kacer and Jake Epstein, and produced by the HAROLD GREEN JEWISH THEATRE, and CREDITORS, a rarely performed play by August Strindberg, produced by COAL MINE THEATRE. Both productions are sophisticated, intelligent and very, very good.
THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE is the story of a man confronted with an impossible dilemma. Joseph, (a perceptive and moving performance by Avery Saltzman) is a Holocaust survivor, who relocated to Canada after the war, and married a Canadian, Evelyn (played by a very funny, and then achingly poignant, Shelia McCarthy). He has a career, a home, a grown son. Then, twenty-five years into his second marriage, Joseph receives a letter. His first wife, Chava (the fine Lisa Horner) who he last saw in the camp, and who he thought was long dead, has been looking for him since the end of the war. It's the 1970s and it is now possible for her to leave Russia. She wants them to reunite.
Horner appears, upstage and down, letters in hand, reading in an elegant European accent, and exerting a powerful, yet somehow, almost ghostly presence.
Sam, Joseph's son, (playwright Jake Epstein) hates all of his stories about the war: they literally give him nightmares. Sam's girlfriend Suzanne, (a very charming Amelia Sargisson) is pressuring him to make a decision about their future, and his mother wants grandchildren. Sam, who feels he has been pressured into every decision he's ever made, wants to live in the present.
Epstein gives a very effective, and convincing portrayal of a young man trapped between wanting to please others, and trying to figure out what he actually wants and needs for himself.
I was deeply struck by the universality of Joseph's problem. Can anyone ever go back to an old love and get a happy ending the second time around? What is the right choice in a situation in which, no matter what you choose, someone is going to get hurt?
It's a lovely, thoughtful, well-performed, and well-directed production, in the company's new 260-seat Greenwin Theatre. My friend and I had a lot to talk about after the show.
Meanwhile, over at the Coal Mine Theatre, CREDITORS, one of the best productions of Strindberg I've ever seen, is currently playing.
Two men talk late into the night: Adolph, a sensitive artist, with a delicate physical and emotional constitution, and Gustav, a shrewd and worldly academic, old enough to be his father. They discuss: art, ambition, love, women, a woman; the younger man's beautiful wife. Adolph is highly suggestible: Gustav is articulate, manipulative, masterful, and utterly malevolent.
As Gustav, Hardee T. Lineman commands the stage, and gives a searingly disturbing performance as a devil who has come to collect what he believes is his due.
Noah Reid does fine work in the tricky role of Adolph, carefully constructing a sensitive romantic, without veering into melodrama.
When Tekla, the young man's wife does appear, we realize that Gustav knows a lot more about her than he has let on.
Liisa Repo-Martell, with golden curls and a shimmering gown, plays a great charmer and a great beauty, a woman teetering on the edge of 40, happily ensconced with a younger man, and coming into her own as a writer. The misogynistic Gustav has other plans for her.
Rae Ellen Bodie boils a frog here: getting her actors to ramp up the tension, one degree at a time, until we are immersed in a simmering cauldron of rage, frustrated desire, and sexual jealousy. The set, by Andrea Miller is simple but effective. It's an incendiary production, and absolutely brilliant.
The Coal Mine is a tiny theatre: 77 seats, and the intimacy of the space adds to the impact of the tragedy that unfolds before us.
I highly recommend seeing both of these exceptionally fine productions.
THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE at the THE TORONTO CENTRE FOR THE ARTS until May 10th with matinees on Sunday. Call (416)932 9995 x224 for tickets. CREDITORS continues nightly at THE COAL MINE THEATRE, Tuesday to Sunday, at 7:30 PM until May 17th. https://ca.brownpapertickets.com/event/1364339
Thursday, May 7, 2015
Friday, May 1, 2015
INTERVIEW: Laura Anne Harris and Janelle Hanna on COMMENCEMENT
We're in Jimmy's Coffee Shop in Kensington Market, on the warmest Sunday afternoon Toronto has seen this spring, but that hasn't kept Laura Anne Harris and Janelle Hanna from working on their show. Their efforts are beginning to pay off.
"We're sold out opening night!" says Janelle. "Yeah, and not just our friends" adds Laura Anne. We all laugh. Even the big guys struggle for audience for "serious" work. As a small, independent production company, Harris' company, Convection Theatre is working hard to establish a presence in Toronto's dynamic independent theatre scene. COMMENCEMENT is the company's fourth production,
COMMENCEMENT was written by Clay McLeod Chapman, a New York-based writer who teaches playwriting at the Actors' Studio. I've seen a previous production of COMMENCEMENT, and I think it's one of the best plays I've seen in the past 5 years. The play is written for one actor, who plays three women in the aftermath of a school shooting: Sara, the mother of the assailant, Mary, the mother of the victim, and Julie, the victim and a promising young woman, the class valedictorian. It was a critic's pick by Time Out NY.
"I discovered this script when I saw an American production of it touring on the Fringe circuit, a few years back. It's a rich, layered text, full of vivid imagery," says Laura Anne. "Chapman was really approachable, and excited to have us do it. As we've rehearsed, we've gone to him with questions about the script, and he's been really open."
Laura Anne continues: "I was looking for a project for Janelle and me to do together. We had such a great time working on SWELL BROAD last year. It's a demanding role, and I knew she had the range to be able to pull it off. I am a playwright, and my company has produced shows I've written, but I don't always want to be the playwright. This was a good vehicle for us."
Janelle jumps in, smiling. "I was the class valedictorian. My picture is in the library at my old high school, Quinte Secondary."
Janelle continues: "I'd hate to be in high school now. The easy access to weapons now is terrifying. Social media was just beginning to be popular, when I was leaving high school. We grow up in high school. Social media can be part of building community, but often it is used to fuel alienation, insecurity and aloneness."
Laura Anne says, " You see it in Mary, too. She's surrounded by people, but alone in her grief. It's a play that feels very 21st century, in its grasp of the issues of community and alienation in contemporary society."
Janelle says, "We wanted to do something to help kids who are struggling in isolation."
Laura Anne looks at her. " So we decided to donate 50% the box office from our Saturday May 9th 4:00 pm to Kids Help Phone. It's our way of trying to support the community. There's a donation jar out during the run if people want to give them something. They operate without government support."
"Like an independent theatre company?" I ask.
We all laugh. Laura Anne adds, "We're in an independent space too: Hub 14. I know Andrew Gaboury (who runs the space) from working with him in AS THE FOO TURNS. He's an associate artist with the Toronto Festival of Clowns."
She pauses. "When I studied clown with John Turner, he taught us that it is important to invite the audience into the environment of the show. We are trying to build that inclusive environment, onstage and off."
COMMENCEMENT opens tonight, May 1st at HUB 14, 14 Markham Street, one block west of Queen St W. and Bathurst, for six performances: May & 2 at 8:00 PM May 3rd at 4:00 PM and continuing the following weekend: May 8 & 9 at 8:00 PM with matinees Saturday May 9th and Sunday, May 10th at 4:00 PM. Tickets are $20/$15 (arts workers) and may be purchased in advance at http://bpt.me/1374075
"We're sold out opening night!" says Janelle. "Yeah, and not just our friends" adds Laura Anne. We all laugh. Even the big guys struggle for audience for "serious" work. As a small, independent production company, Harris' company, Convection Theatre is working hard to establish a presence in Toronto's dynamic independent theatre scene. COMMENCEMENT is the company's fourth production,
COMMENCEMENT was written by Clay McLeod Chapman, a New York-based writer who teaches playwriting at the Actors' Studio. I've seen a previous production of COMMENCEMENT, and I think it's one of the best plays I've seen in the past 5 years. The play is written for one actor, who plays three women in the aftermath of a school shooting: Sara, the mother of the assailant, Mary, the mother of the victim, and Julie, the victim and a promising young woman, the class valedictorian. It was a critic's pick by Time Out NY.
"I discovered this script when I saw an American production of it touring on the Fringe circuit, a few years back. It's a rich, layered text, full of vivid imagery," says Laura Anne. "Chapman was really approachable, and excited to have us do it. As we've rehearsed, we've gone to him with questions about the script, and he's been really open."
Laura Anne continues: "I was looking for a project for Janelle and me to do together. We had such a great time working on SWELL BROAD last year. It's a demanding role, and I knew she had the range to be able to pull it off. I am a playwright, and my company has produced shows I've written, but I don't always want to be the playwright. This was a good vehicle for us."
Janelle jumps in, smiling. "I was the class valedictorian. My picture is in the library at my old high school, Quinte Secondary."
Janelle continues: "I'd hate to be in high school now. The easy access to weapons now is terrifying. Social media was just beginning to be popular, when I was leaving high school. We grow up in high school. Social media can be part of building community, but often it is used to fuel alienation, insecurity and aloneness."
Laura Anne says, " You see it in Mary, too. She's surrounded by people, but alone in her grief. It's a play that feels very 21st century, in its grasp of the issues of community and alienation in contemporary society."
Janelle says, "We wanted to do something to help kids who are struggling in isolation."
Laura Anne looks at her. " So we decided to donate 50% the box office from our Saturday May 9th 4:00 pm to Kids Help Phone. It's our way of trying to support the community. There's a donation jar out during the run if people want to give them something. They operate without government support."
"Like an independent theatre company?" I ask.
We all laugh. Laura Anne adds, "We're in an independent space too: Hub 14. I know Andrew Gaboury (who runs the space) from working with him in AS THE FOO TURNS. He's an associate artist with the Toronto Festival of Clowns."
She pauses. "When I studied clown with John Turner, he taught us that it is important to invite the audience into the environment of the show. We are trying to build that inclusive environment, onstage and off."
COMMENCEMENT opens tonight, May 1st at HUB 14, 14 Markham Street, one block west of Queen St W. and Bathurst, for six performances: May & 2 at 8:00 PM May 3rd at 4:00 PM and continuing the following weekend: May 8 & 9 at 8:00 PM with matinees Saturday May 9th and Sunday, May 10th at 4:00 PM. Tickets are $20/$15 (arts workers) and may be purchased in advance at http://bpt.me/1374075
Friday, April 17, 2015
Dream Incarnate: CAVALIA: ODYSSEO Under the Big Top at The Portlands, Toronto
There are a few times in life, when, as an audience member, one is treated to a theatrical production of such surreal beauty and invention, it is as if someone managed to make to make a dream manifest right here on earth.
ODYSSEO, by Normand Latourelle's Quebec-based company, Cavalia is one of those sublime artistic achievements.
The equine spectacle is truly an odyssey. The entire stage transforms from scene to scene, as ice fields, mountains, deserts, savannas and enchanted forests appear before our astonished eyes. Driven by music, these mirages are created using a dazzling array of seamlessly manipulated video projections, lighting, layered scrims, and a huge, tilting stage.
Against this mesmerizing backdrop, an international cast of mind-numbingly athletic, talented and brave horses and humans take the audience around the world for a series of spectacular delights.
As the horses, appear, one by one, you can see each one is a star in his (they are all male) own right. They are powerful and gorgeous: their spirits shine in every move they make.
Their human counterparts are equally impressive. Using charm, humour, aerial work, stunt riding, dressage, dance, tumbling and live music, the performers, human and equine, create sequence after sequence of gasp-inducing feats of skill and strength, and tableaux of arresting loveliness on the spectacular set.
The costumes, music, technical production and direction are as superlative as the performers and the sets.
For the finale, a lake forms before our eyes, and horses and riders create a water ballet to remember.
ODYSSEO transports audiences to a glorious world of fantasy and imagination. Get a ticket - and take the kids. They'll love it, and so will you.
Cavalia's ODYSSEO continues under The Big Top at the foot of Cherry Street. For times and tickets call 1-866-999-8111 or go to www.cavalia.net
ODYSSEO, by Normand Latourelle's Quebec-based company, Cavalia is one of those sublime artistic achievements.
The equine spectacle is truly an odyssey. The entire stage transforms from scene to scene, as ice fields, mountains, deserts, savannas and enchanted forests appear before our astonished eyes. Driven by music, these mirages are created using a dazzling array of seamlessly manipulated video projections, lighting, layered scrims, and a huge, tilting stage.
Against this mesmerizing backdrop, an international cast of mind-numbingly athletic, talented and brave horses and humans take the audience around the world for a series of spectacular delights.
As the horses, appear, one by one, you can see each one is a star in his (they are all male) own right. They are powerful and gorgeous: their spirits shine in every move they make.
Their human counterparts are equally impressive. Using charm, humour, aerial work, stunt riding, dressage, dance, tumbling and live music, the performers, human and equine, create sequence after sequence of gasp-inducing feats of skill and strength, and tableaux of arresting loveliness on the spectacular set.
The costumes, music, technical production and direction are as superlative as the performers and the sets.
For the finale, a lake forms before our eyes, and horses and riders create a water ballet to remember.
ODYSSEO transports audiences to a glorious world of fantasy and imagination. Get a ticket - and take the kids. They'll love it, and so will you.
Cavalia's ODYSSEO continues under The Big Top at the foot of Cherry Street. For times and tickets call 1-866-999-8111 or go to www.cavalia.net
Friday, March 27, 2015
REVIEW: THE UNPLUGGING & RONNIE BURKETT's THE DAISY THEATRE at THE FACTORY
Last week, I saw both shows currently onstage at the Factory Theatre.
Mainstage is THE UNPLUGGING, Yvette Nolan's post-apocalyptic vision of a future where the lights have gone out, and aren't coming back on. If you were one of the unfortunate people who lived without power for a few days - or weeks - two Christmases past, you have a clear idea of how terrifying this can be.
In THE UNPLUGGING, two women, past childbearing age, have been cast out of their community, and into the woods, in the dead of a Canadian winter, for "not pulling their weight." When we meet them, one grumpy and exhausted half of the duo, Elena (the wonderful Diana Belshaw) is ready to call it quits, and freeze to death right on the spot.
Her buddy, former good time girl Bern (a smoking hot and smoking good, Allegra Fulton) remembers there's a cottage not far away, where she used to go and party. Once they're out of the woods, so to speak, Elena dusts off the trap line skills she learned from her grandmother, and Bern turns into a savvy scavenger. They hunt and forage through the bush, and the abandoned cottages around them, making their way to a comfortable, if chaste, and rather lonely subsistence. Then Seamus, a hungry young man, played by newcomer Umed Amin, shows up on their doorstep.
The play examines the kinds of power that remain when we run out of fossil fuel and electricity. It's dark territory, and in Nolan's imagining, it is also dangerous, and wickedly funny. All three actors do good work. Sadly, for a show with such a dynamic premise, and so many provocative questions on the table, the production feels weirdly flat.
There are a couple of reasons for this. The script has four movement passages built into it. Unfortunately, their execution is painfully clunky and awkward, undermining any dramatic tension preceding them.
Director Nina Aquino has done some good work with the actors. All the relationships are credible, and the humour in the script really shines.
She has also chosen to rapidly deflate any difficult moments in the play, and reinforce the didactic aspects of the script. We are never really allowed to sit with any sense of fear, menace, sorrow or flat-out terror, not even with weapons drawn. As Seamus, Amin has sexual chemistry with Fulton, but never feels like a credible threat. This robs the second half of the play of much of its power.
Camilia Koo's austere white set works well with Michele Ramsay's lovely lighting design, but it is not a good shape for a show with so much stylized movement. Seamus' upstage retreat takes up a whole lot of room for a barely used playing area .
I had no problem with the decision to cast non-Aboriginal actors, although I find it incredible that Aquino, a big advocate for non-white actors, and Nolan, the former artistic director of the oldest Aboriginal theatre company in the country, could not, between them, find one suitable, age-appropriate, available Aboriginal performer for any role in the three person cast.
In a collaboration between Native Earth Performing Arts, and the Factory Theatre, I find it even harder to believe they couldn't have used Aboriginal music by Aboriginal musicians, or hired an Aboriginal choreographer to handle the movement. As I watched the production, I longed for the gorgeous choreography of the electrifying Santee Smith, the voice of Tanya Tagaq or the beats of a Tribe Called Red.
THE UNPLUGGING is worth seeing, for both Nolan's award-winning play, and for Fulton and Belshaw's fine performances.
Meanwhile, in the smaller downstairs studio, Ronnie Burkett is back, with his alternating cast of forty singing, dancing, and acting marionettes, gleefully tipping sacred cows in his endlessly inventive and delightful cabaret show, THE DAISY THEATRE.
Ronnie Burkett writes the shows, builds the puppets (with the team of Angela Talbot, Gemma James-Smith, Marcus Jamin, Gil Garratt and Martin Herbert) and with the help of some unwitting, but three-GGG (that's good, giving and game, for you non-Dan Savage readers) audience participants, provides two hours of non-stop, engaging, witty, and deeply affecting entertainment.
Burkett is that rare performer who gets on a stage, and with polish, assurance and masterful skill, totally owns the room. If you've never had a chance to be beguiled his charms, THE DAISY THEATRE is on for another 10 days. If you've seen the DAISY THEATRE, as I have, for the third time now, the cabaret-style show is different every night. The music by John Alcorn and Cathy Nosaty, with a theme song by Laura Hubert, is perfect.
It's World Theatre Day today. Each time I see Burkett, I am reminded of what it is I love about theatre. Burkett's puppets, with their charms, sorrows, sufferings, illusions, foibles and dreams, remind us what it means to be fully human.
THE DAISY THEATRE and THE UNPLUGGING continue at THE FACTORY THEATRE, TUESDAY through SUNDAY, until APRIL 5th. For both shows call: CALL (416) 504 9971 or go to factorytheatre.ca for times and tickets.
Mainstage is THE UNPLUGGING, Yvette Nolan's post-apocalyptic vision of a future where the lights have gone out, and aren't coming back on. If you were one of the unfortunate people who lived without power for a few days - or weeks - two Christmases past, you have a clear idea of how terrifying this can be.
In THE UNPLUGGING, two women, past childbearing age, have been cast out of their community, and into the woods, in the dead of a Canadian winter, for "not pulling their weight." When we meet them, one grumpy and exhausted half of the duo, Elena (the wonderful Diana Belshaw) is ready to call it quits, and freeze to death right on the spot.
Her buddy, former good time girl Bern (a smoking hot and smoking good, Allegra Fulton) remembers there's a cottage not far away, where she used to go and party. Once they're out of the woods, so to speak, Elena dusts off the trap line skills she learned from her grandmother, and Bern turns into a savvy scavenger. They hunt and forage through the bush, and the abandoned cottages around them, making their way to a comfortable, if chaste, and rather lonely subsistence. Then Seamus, a hungry young man, played by newcomer Umed Amin, shows up on their doorstep.
The play examines the kinds of power that remain when we run out of fossil fuel and electricity. It's dark territory, and in Nolan's imagining, it is also dangerous, and wickedly funny. All three actors do good work. Sadly, for a show with such a dynamic premise, and so many provocative questions on the table, the production feels weirdly flat.
There are a couple of reasons for this. The script has four movement passages built into it. Unfortunately, their execution is painfully clunky and awkward, undermining any dramatic tension preceding them.
Director Nina Aquino has done some good work with the actors. All the relationships are credible, and the humour in the script really shines.
She has also chosen to rapidly deflate any difficult moments in the play, and reinforce the didactic aspects of the script. We are never really allowed to sit with any sense of fear, menace, sorrow or flat-out terror, not even with weapons drawn. As Seamus, Amin has sexual chemistry with Fulton, but never feels like a credible threat. This robs the second half of the play of much of its power.
Camilia Koo's austere white set works well with Michele Ramsay's lovely lighting design, but it is not a good shape for a show with so much stylized movement. Seamus' upstage retreat takes up a whole lot of room for a barely used playing area .
I had no problem with the decision to cast non-Aboriginal actors, although I find it incredible that Aquino, a big advocate for non-white actors, and Nolan, the former artistic director of the oldest Aboriginal theatre company in the country, could not, between them, find one suitable, age-appropriate, available Aboriginal performer for any role in the three person cast.
In a collaboration between Native Earth Performing Arts, and the Factory Theatre, I find it even harder to believe they couldn't have used Aboriginal music by Aboriginal musicians, or hired an Aboriginal choreographer to handle the movement. As I watched the production, I longed for the gorgeous choreography of the electrifying Santee Smith, the voice of Tanya Tagaq or the beats of a Tribe Called Red.
THE UNPLUGGING is worth seeing, for both Nolan's award-winning play, and for Fulton and Belshaw's fine performances.
Meanwhile, in the smaller downstairs studio, Ronnie Burkett is back, with his alternating cast of forty singing, dancing, and acting marionettes, gleefully tipping sacred cows in his endlessly inventive and delightful cabaret show, THE DAISY THEATRE.
Ronnie Burkett writes the shows, builds the puppets (with the team of Angela Talbot, Gemma James-Smith, Marcus Jamin, Gil Garratt and Martin Herbert) and with the help of some unwitting, but three-GGG (that's good, giving and game, for you non-Dan Savage readers) audience participants, provides two hours of non-stop, engaging, witty, and deeply affecting entertainment.
Burkett is that rare performer who gets on a stage, and with polish, assurance and masterful skill, totally owns the room. If you've never had a chance to be beguiled his charms, THE DAISY THEATRE is on for another 10 days. If you've seen the DAISY THEATRE, as I have, for the third time now, the cabaret-style show is different every night. The music by John Alcorn and Cathy Nosaty, with a theme song by Laura Hubert, is perfect.
It's World Theatre Day today. Each time I see Burkett, I am reminded of what it is I love about theatre. Burkett's puppets, with their charms, sorrows, sufferings, illusions, foibles and dreams, remind us what it means to be fully human.
THE DAISY THEATRE and THE UNPLUGGING continue at THE FACTORY THEATRE, TUESDAY through SUNDAY, until APRIL 5th. For both shows call: CALL (416) 504 9971 or go to factorytheatre.ca for times and tickets.
Thursday, March 26, 2015
REVIEWS: BULL and TIME STANDS STILL
I saw BULL and TIME STANDS STILL last week. Both independent, both imported scripts, both interesting, if somewhat problematic productions.
BULL was written by British wunderkind, Mike Bartlett He took the Olivier Award for the best new play in 2013 for this script. I loved his play, COCK when Studio 180 staged it last year, and went in with high hopes.
BULL is a one hour, high stakes drama, set in one room, with no interval. Three employees: underdog Thomas (well-played by Ryan Rogerson), slickly repulsive Tony, (a fabulous Damon Runyan) and sexy manipulative Isobel (a high-octane Diana Bentley) meet one boss (a steely and scary Mark Caven) because one of their heads is going to roll. You know, from the start, who it is going to be.
David Ferry uses the tiny Coal Mine Theatre to good effect, staging the production as a kind of UFC cage match in a subterranean office. All four actors deliver intense performances as Thomas is selected as the victim of the other three, and subsequently bullied, badgered, humiliated, beaten, and then, bludgeoned to death.
People laughed through much of it, but I failed to see the humour.
I am not in the habit of giving away the plot of a show up front, but BULL's script is so remorselessly nasty, so relentless, and makes it so obvious from the start where it is going, (and nothing shifts or changes EVER) that I don't feel I'm spoiling anything. Moreover, the ending is so over the top, it's just stupid.
In life, Thomas probably would have very successfully assaulted Isobel, and then ended up in custody, or just walked out the door, after being sacked. Bartlett had no interest in letting a dose of reality spoil his toxic idea of fun.
The actors all deliver fine work, and the direction is great. The script, however, is nasty, sadistic, unfunny, and utterly pointless. It's worth seeing for the fine acting and directing. If watching people beat the crap out each other physically and emotionally is your idea of a good time, you'll probably enjoy it.
TIME STANDS STILL is a terrific script by American writer David Margulis about Sarah, (Kirsten Rae Hinton) a war photographer with more than a bit of an edge to her, and James (Jason Jazrawy), her seemingly put-upon journalist partner. When we meet the couple, they have just returned home to Brooklyn, after Sarah has been seriously injured in a roadside bomb attack. Her fixer, a local driver/translator/go between has been killed.
Sarah and James reconnect with their best friend, editor, Richard (Sam Rosenthal) who has fallen in love with a younger woman, (Carleigh Beverly) who is much less professionally ambitious that the rest of them.
The play is a very intelligent and thoughtful exploration of the impact of a physical injury on a couple's relationship: with each other, with their friends and on their respective careers. It forces them to examine the role this kind of work plays in their lives. If work has defined their life together, who are they without their jobs? Is work the most important and defining aspect of one's life?
Third World misery, sold for consumption as news, by the chattering classes to wealthy liberals sleeping in warm beds gets a hard, uncomfortable examination. So does that great mid-life struggle: what gives a life meaning, and what brings greater happiness: "important" work or domestic bliss. Can you have both?
Finally, there's the issue for all of us who have lived in more than one place: you may depart physically, but those people and places comes with you, whether you want them to or not.
The remounted award-winning 2014 Fringe hit is directed by Jordan Merkur, who makes good use of the space, though some of the moments between the actors could have used a little more focus.
Beverly, playing the younger, air-headed event planner girlfriend ( in my experience, you have to be pretty damn smart and well organized to be an event planner) gives a show-stealing performance, full of warmth and humour.
The other actors are seasoned and capable in their roles, though both Hinton and Jazwary exhibited a disconcerting habit of playing off the house, rather than each other. As a consequence, I felt pulled out of the play at times, and less able to connect with their characters. It's a habit I sometimes observe in actors who spend more time in front of a camera, than on a stage. Maybe it was just opening night jitters.
There's an effective set, a good lighting design and an intriguing play that will give you lots to think about and discuss when you leave the theatre. TIME STANDS STILL is well worth seeing.
TIME STANDS STILL by the TSS COLLECTIVE continues at THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE MAINSPACE until Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00 pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm March 29th. Call 416 504 7529 for tickets or information.
BULL continues at the COAL MINE THEATRE 798 Danforth Avenue, nightly from Tuesday though Sunday at 7:30 pm, until April 5th. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com
BULL was written by British wunderkind, Mike Bartlett He took the Olivier Award for the best new play in 2013 for this script. I loved his play, COCK when Studio 180 staged it last year, and went in with high hopes.
BULL is a one hour, high stakes drama, set in one room, with no interval. Three employees: underdog Thomas (well-played by Ryan Rogerson), slickly repulsive Tony, (a fabulous Damon Runyan) and sexy manipulative Isobel (a high-octane Diana Bentley) meet one boss (a steely and scary Mark Caven) because one of their heads is going to roll. You know, from the start, who it is going to be.
David Ferry uses the tiny Coal Mine Theatre to good effect, staging the production as a kind of UFC cage match in a subterranean office. All four actors deliver intense performances as Thomas is selected as the victim of the other three, and subsequently bullied, badgered, humiliated, beaten, and then, bludgeoned to death.
People laughed through much of it, but I failed to see the humour.
I am not in the habit of giving away the plot of a show up front, but BULL's script is so remorselessly nasty, so relentless, and makes it so obvious from the start where it is going, (and nothing shifts or changes EVER) that I don't feel I'm spoiling anything. Moreover, the ending is so over the top, it's just stupid.
In life, Thomas probably would have very successfully assaulted Isobel, and then ended up in custody, or just walked out the door, after being sacked. Bartlett had no interest in letting a dose of reality spoil his toxic idea of fun.
The actors all deliver fine work, and the direction is great. The script, however, is nasty, sadistic, unfunny, and utterly pointless. It's worth seeing for the fine acting and directing. If watching people beat the crap out each other physically and emotionally is your idea of a good time, you'll probably enjoy it.
TIME STANDS STILL is a terrific script by American writer David Margulis about Sarah, (Kirsten Rae Hinton) a war photographer with more than a bit of an edge to her, and James (Jason Jazrawy), her seemingly put-upon journalist partner. When we meet the couple, they have just returned home to Brooklyn, after Sarah has been seriously injured in a roadside bomb attack. Her fixer, a local driver/translator/go between has been killed.
Sarah and James reconnect with their best friend, editor, Richard (Sam Rosenthal) who has fallen in love with a younger woman, (Carleigh Beverly) who is much less professionally ambitious that the rest of them.
The play is a very intelligent and thoughtful exploration of the impact of a physical injury on a couple's relationship: with each other, with their friends and on their respective careers. It forces them to examine the role this kind of work plays in their lives. If work has defined their life together, who are they without their jobs? Is work the most important and defining aspect of one's life?
Third World misery, sold for consumption as news, by the chattering classes to wealthy liberals sleeping in warm beds gets a hard, uncomfortable examination. So does that great mid-life struggle: what gives a life meaning, and what brings greater happiness: "important" work or domestic bliss. Can you have both?
Finally, there's the issue for all of us who have lived in more than one place: you may depart physically, but those people and places comes with you, whether you want them to or not.
The remounted award-winning 2014 Fringe hit is directed by Jordan Merkur, who makes good use of the space, though some of the moments between the actors could have used a little more focus.
Beverly, playing the younger, air-headed event planner girlfriend ( in my experience, you have to be pretty damn smart and well organized to be an event planner) gives a show-stealing performance, full of warmth and humour.
The other actors are seasoned and capable in their roles, though both Hinton and Jazwary exhibited a disconcerting habit of playing off the house, rather than each other. As a consequence, I felt pulled out of the play at times, and less able to connect with their characters. It's a habit I sometimes observe in actors who spend more time in front of a camera, than on a stage. Maybe it was just opening night jitters.
There's an effective set, a good lighting design and an intriguing play that will give you lots to think about and discuss when you leave the theatre. TIME STANDS STILL is well worth seeing.
TIME STANDS STILL by the TSS COLLECTIVE continues at THEATRE PASSE MURAILLE MAINSPACE until Tuesday to Saturday at 8:00 pm with matinees Saturday and Sunday at 2:00 pm March 29th. Call 416 504 7529 for tickets or information.
BULL continues at the COAL MINE THEATRE 798 Danforth Avenue, nightly from Tuesday though Sunday at 7:30 pm, until April 5th. Tickets at www.brownpapertickets.com
Wednesday, March 18, 2015
POWER PLAY: Yvette Nolan and Nina Aquino dish it with S&G before THE UNPLUGGING opens
The Factory Theatre was a rocking place Sunday afternoon, as I arrived to interview recently appointed Factory AD Nina Aquino and her former boss, mentor, and now, collaborator; playwright, and former Native Earth AD, Yvette Nolan.
Rehearsal has just broken. Techs and front of house staff were hurrying around, getting ready for the preview that night. We slid into Nina's office at the top of stairs to escape the bustle and talk.
Nolan and Aquino are a study in contrasts.
Nolan is an imposing looking woman, tall, dressed rocker chick tough in jeans, boots and a black T-shirt, her trademark silver mane, loose. She looks relaxed and comfortable.
Aquino is in tan flats, a delicate white dress with fine hand made lace insets, a cream cardigan, an up-do, a long, delicate gold chain. She is measured in her speech, but the lively hand movements punctuating her comments, suggest a torrent of energy behind the contained exterior.
The office reflects Aquino's personal style: red tulips on the desk, family photos, a throw on the sofa, signs of someone who cares about, and pays attention to details.
Nina sits behind the desk. Yvette offers me her big, leather, power chair, opposite Nina, but I'm already on the couch. Besides, this way, I can look at both of them while we talk.
S&G: Why this play? Why now?
Nina: Well, in some ways it does feel like we are at at the end of the world. We're plugged in all the time to our technology, but we lack human connection.
Yvette: I came back here (Toronto) around the time of the big black-out, the one in August, not last winter. People were really nice for three days, but if it had gone on much longer, I could see it getting ugly. There was this woman next door to me, who kept watering her lawn, unconscious of the fact the reservoir needs electricity to be filled. "We could run out of water," I said."My lawn will die," she said. I thought, "If we run out of water, we will die."
I am, foremost a playwright. While I was at Native Earth, I wrote 10 minute things, but no full-length plays. When I left, I wasn't sure I could still write a play. Around that time, my mother died. She was only sixty-five. She was an elder, a residential school survivor, and yet, I felt her wisdom was devalued.
I've turned fifty. I got a good education, I have a voice, I've had a platform, I've had power, and the responsibility of power. I've been thinking about these things: about what happens when we run out of power, about how we devalue older woman, how they become voiceless. You see it in how few good roles there are for older women. I spent twenty years, and three months writing this play: twenty in my head and three on the page.
S&G: Has Yvette directed your work, Nina? Yvette, how does it feel, as a writer and a director, to hand your play over to another director?
Nina: No! I have written plays, but I am really a director, not a writer. I wrote the play I felt I needed to write about my family history, about what it means to be an Aquino. I don't feel compelled to write the way I need to direct. Yvette gave me great trust, and great freedom as a director.
Yvette: Yeah, well, and it was Nina!
Both laugh.
Yvette: As I get older, I get more relaxed, less controlling. In a way, writing a play is a kind of structured improv. I create a frame, but then the actors, and the director, and the team bring their own creativity to it. It's great to see how it is different, production to production. (This is the play's 3rd production, but the Toronto debut) And we have our team.
More laughter.
Nina: We both work with (lighting designer) Michelle Ramsay and (set designer) Camilla Koo. There's a great understanding of what we want, what we need, a shared aesthetic.
S&G: Have you changed much since Vancouver? (THE UNPLUGGING won a Jesse, Vancouver's Dora Awards for Outstanding New Play in 2013.)
Yvette: A few things.
Nina: Some little things. Not much.
S&G: What did Yvette teach you about being an artistic director?
Nina: She gave me a template for leadership. She's never given me 'advice" but, in pivotal moments, without asking, I'll get a random text.
She's smiling at Yvette.
Nina: It's like we have a psychic connection.
Yvette: Yeah.
S&G: You've both been artistic directors. Not many women can say that. Could you speak about that experience?
Yvette: It's a hard job. You're in service to your community. I was very aware of not wanting to squander an opportunity. I was very conscious of being a voice for the 1st Nations community, which is a big responsibility. Women don't get enough opportunities to train for that step-up, into a position of power. If you don't get to work very often, how can you become skillful?
Nina: Well, I had been a director of two companies before this, Cahoots and fu-GEN, so I was used to the ritual of wearing a lot of different hats. I think you have to be able to wear a lot of different hats if you want to have a career in this business. This is a bigger production, a bigger plant. Theatre is process, this job is process every day. I also have to think about where the company sits in the theatre ecology, and how we can transform, enrich and change the community.
S&G: Was the decision to co-produce part of that?
Nina: Yes! Emerging work, artists of colour, we want to give more people better opportunities. We have a "yes" policy. If you invite us to see your show, we will say yes, if we possibly can. I am vigilant about seeing work. Do you know this is the first time Native Earth has co-produced with the Factory?
Yvette: That's really exciting!
S&G: What's different for you, this season, from last season?
Nina: Oh, everything! More clarity, more stability. The first year, after all the troubles. we just had to deal with what was handed to us, and try to keep the place from going under. It's been a struggle. This year, we had the ability to make more choices. This play was my choice. It is the first play I am directing at the Factory. I wanted to direct this play.
S&G: If you were going to give some advice to your 20 year old self, now, what would it be?
Yvette: Have more sex!
We all laugh.
Nina: Yeah? What's that line in the play? "More sex, less angst."
Yvette: Yes, more sex, less angst!
Yvette: Be less afraid. Get good teachers. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Nina: I would tell my 20 year-old self to wait for love. I married the first time at 21.
S&G: Wow!
Nina: It was too soon. When I married the second time, in my late 20s, I was ready. I have a great partner, a wonderful daughter, that makes this job easier. And I'm excited. This is a great opportunity. In Korean, opportunity is a dangerous chance. I'm taking a chance.
Yvette: I wanted the show to be on this stage. It means something to have a show mainstage at the Factory Theatre. This is the home of the Canadian playwright!
A crowd is waiting outside the door to meet the director and writer before the Sunday night preview. Our time is up.
On the walk home, in the fading light of an early spring evening, I think about power, and not the kind you miss in a black-out. I wonder how someone decides they're ready to embrace it.
Aquino has been handed the stage of the Factory Theatre, a powerful role indeed, and one few women ever get a shot at. She has the blessing of her mentor, and former boss, Yvette Nolan. The community is waiting, to see what she does with her dangerous chance.
THE UNPLUGGING, by Yvette Nolan, co-produced by Native Earth Performing Arts and the Factory Theatre, directed by Nina Lee Aquino and starring Diana Belshaw and Allegra Fulton, and introducing Umed Amin, at the Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, opens Thursday, March 19th and runs until April 5th. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 pm and at 2:00 pm Sundays (pay what you can). For tickets, call (416) 504 9971.
Rehearsal has just broken. Techs and front of house staff were hurrying around, getting ready for the preview that night. We slid into Nina's office at the top of stairs to escape the bustle and talk.
Nolan and Aquino are a study in contrasts.
Nolan is an imposing looking woman, tall, dressed rocker chick tough in jeans, boots and a black T-shirt, her trademark silver mane, loose. She looks relaxed and comfortable.
Aquino is in tan flats, a delicate white dress with fine hand made lace insets, a cream cardigan, an up-do, a long, delicate gold chain. She is measured in her speech, but the lively hand movements punctuating her comments, suggest a torrent of energy behind the contained exterior.
The office reflects Aquino's personal style: red tulips on the desk, family photos, a throw on the sofa, signs of someone who cares about, and pays attention to details.
Nina sits behind the desk. Yvette offers me her big, leather, power chair, opposite Nina, but I'm already on the couch. Besides, this way, I can look at both of them while we talk.
S&G: Why this play? Why now?
Nina: Well, in some ways it does feel like we are at at the end of the world. We're plugged in all the time to our technology, but we lack human connection.
Yvette: I came back here (Toronto) around the time of the big black-out, the one in August, not last winter. People were really nice for three days, but if it had gone on much longer, I could see it getting ugly. There was this woman next door to me, who kept watering her lawn, unconscious of the fact the reservoir needs electricity to be filled. "We could run out of water," I said."My lawn will die," she said. I thought, "If we run out of water, we will die."
I am, foremost a playwright. While I was at Native Earth, I wrote 10 minute things, but no full-length plays. When I left, I wasn't sure I could still write a play. Around that time, my mother died. She was only sixty-five. She was an elder, a residential school survivor, and yet, I felt her wisdom was devalued.
I've turned fifty. I got a good education, I have a voice, I've had a platform, I've had power, and the responsibility of power. I've been thinking about these things: about what happens when we run out of power, about how we devalue older woman, how they become voiceless. You see it in how few good roles there are for older women. I spent twenty years, and three months writing this play: twenty in my head and three on the page.
S&G: Has Yvette directed your work, Nina? Yvette, how does it feel, as a writer and a director, to hand your play over to another director?
Nina: No! I have written plays, but I am really a director, not a writer. I wrote the play I felt I needed to write about my family history, about what it means to be an Aquino. I don't feel compelled to write the way I need to direct. Yvette gave me great trust, and great freedom as a director.
Yvette: Yeah, well, and it was Nina!
Both laugh.
Yvette: As I get older, I get more relaxed, less controlling. In a way, writing a play is a kind of structured improv. I create a frame, but then the actors, and the director, and the team bring their own creativity to it. It's great to see how it is different, production to production. (This is the play's 3rd production, but the Toronto debut) And we have our team.
More laughter.
Nina: We both work with (lighting designer) Michelle Ramsay and (set designer) Camilla Koo. There's a great understanding of what we want, what we need, a shared aesthetic.
S&G: Have you changed much since Vancouver? (THE UNPLUGGING won a Jesse, Vancouver's Dora Awards for Outstanding New Play in 2013.)
Yvette: A few things.
Nina: Some little things. Not much.
S&G: What did Yvette teach you about being an artistic director?
Nina: She gave me a template for leadership. She's never given me 'advice" but, in pivotal moments, without asking, I'll get a random text.
She's smiling at Yvette.
Nina: It's like we have a psychic connection.
Yvette: Yeah.
S&G: You've both been artistic directors. Not many women can say that. Could you speak about that experience?
Yvette: It's a hard job. You're in service to your community. I was very aware of not wanting to squander an opportunity. I was very conscious of being a voice for the 1st Nations community, which is a big responsibility. Women don't get enough opportunities to train for that step-up, into a position of power. If you don't get to work very often, how can you become skillful?
Nina: Well, I had been a director of two companies before this, Cahoots and fu-GEN, so I was used to the ritual of wearing a lot of different hats. I think you have to be able to wear a lot of different hats if you want to have a career in this business. This is a bigger production, a bigger plant. Theatre is process, this job is process every day. I also have to think about where the company sits in the theatre ecology, and how we can transform, enrich and change the community.
S&G: Was the decision to co-produce part of that?
Nina: Yes! Emerging work, artists of colour, we want to give more people better opportunities. We have a "yes" policy. If you invite us to see your show, we will say yes, if we possibly can. I am vigilant about seeing work. Do you know this is the first time Native Earth has co-produced with the Factory?
Yvette: That's really exciting!
S&G: What's different for you, this season, from last season?
Nina: Oh, everything! More clarity, more stability. The first year, after all the troubles. we just had to deal with what was handed to us, and try to keep the place from going under. It's been a struggle. This year, we had the ability to make more choices. This play was my choice. It is the first play I am directing at the Factory. I wanted to direct this play.
S&G: If you were going to give some advice to your 20 year old self, now, what would it be?
Yvette: Have more sex!
We all laugh.
Nina: Yeah? What's that line in the play? "More sex, less angst."
Yvette: Yes, more sex, less angst!
Yvette: Be less afraid. Get good teachers. Don't be afraid to make mistakes.
Nina: I would tell my 20 year-old self to wait for love. I married the first time at 21.
S&G: Wow!
Nina: It was too soon. When I married the second time, in my late 20s, I was ready. I have a great partner, a wonderful daughter, that makes this job easier. And I'm excited. This is a great opportunity. In Korean, opportunity is a dangerous chance. I'm taking a chance.
Yvette: I wanted the show to be on this stage. It means something to have a show mainstage at the Factory Theatre. This is the home of the Canadian playwright!
A crowd is waiting outside the door to meet the director and writer before the Sunday night preview. Our time is up.
On the walk home, in the fading light of an early spring evening, I think about power, and not the kind you miss in a black-out. I wonder how someone decides they're ready to embrace it.
Aquino has been handed the stage of the Factory Theatre, a powerful role indeed, and one few women ever get a shot at. She has the blessing of her mentor, and former boss, Yvette Nolan. The community is waiting, to see what she does with her dangerous chance.
THE UNPLUGGING, by Yvette Nolan, co-produced by Native Earth Performing Arts and the Factory Theatre, directed by Nina Lee Aquino and starring Diana Belshaw and Allegra Fulton, and introducing Umed Amin, at the Factory Theatre, 125 Bathurst Street, opens Thursday, March 19th and runs until April 5th. Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 pm and at 2:00 pm Sundays (pay what you can). For tickets, call (416) 504 9971.
Saturday, March 7, 2015
Can We Talk? An Interview with DAVID EISNER of the HAROLD GREEN JEWISH THEATRE
It's time to mix it up at Sprockets and Greasepaint. Time to chat with some writers and directors about what they are writing, what they are staging, why they've chosen what they've chosen, and how they are going to go about doing it.
Last week, I was offered an opportunity to speak with David Eisner, co-artistic director of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre in Toronto about the company's participation in this year's SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAELI CULTURE, currently taking place in Toronto, and about some other upcoming work at the theatre.
This Sunday, March 8, the company presents a reading of of APPLES FROM THE DESERT , by Savyon Liebrecht. APPLES... won the 2006 Israel Best Play Award. Liebrecht was born in Munich to Holocaust survivor parents who immigrated to Israel. The play is an adaptation of her own short story.
Rivka is the 18 year old daughter of a controlling father and a subservient mother. Her father wants to marry Rivka off to an older man, a widower with children. Rivka's single aunt thinks this is a bad idea, and so does Rivka, who has her own ideas about how, and with whom, she wants to spend her future. She's met secular Doobie who want to live on a kibbutz.
I spoke with Eisner about his choice of play for the festival, earlier this week.
Eisner: "It's the second year we have participated in the festival. Avery (Saltzman, the company's co-artistic director) and I chose this script because, while it is set in Israel, in a religious Sephardic home, the play speaks to universal themes of love and family. Liebrecht casts a critical gaze on he meaning of family, and asks the question, "what do children learn from their parents?"
S&G: "Not always what they intend. She certainly learned what kind of marriage she didn't want."
Eisner, " Yes. I liked the range of family dynamics the play presented: between the husband and wife, between sisters, between Rivka and her parents, separately and together."
S&G: "And it's a love story; and a very sweet one, with a young woman who is determined to choose her mate on her own terms."
Eisner: "Yes, an Israeli love story, with universal themes of love and reconciliation, which was perfect for the festival."
S&G: "You've got a great cast for this reading: Sarah Dodds, Avery Saltzman, Shelia McCarthy..."
Eisner: "Shelia and Avery are also in our upcoming production, THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE with Jake Epstein from DeGrassi. We're really excited, because it will be our first production in the newly renovated 300 seat Greenwin Theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts."
S&G: " So this is not only a reading of a well-regarded script, it's a sample of what the company has in store for the rest of the season?"
Eisner: "Exactly. We are in our eighth season. People seem to enjoy what we're doing. We have 2100 subscribers - but we'd always love more!"
S&G: "So APPLES... is a chance for prospective subscribers to get a free sample of what HAROLD GREEN does?"
Eisner: "Exactly! We'll be announcing the playbill for our 9th season at the end of March. Say tuned!"
Free theatre on a Sunday afternoon: what more could you ask for?
APPLES FROM THE DESERT will receive a free public reading at the GALLERY LOUNGE of the TORONTO CENTRE for the ARTS, 5040 Yonge Street, as part of SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAELI CULTURE on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 pm. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Call (416) 932 9995 to reserve a seat.
Last week, I was offered an opportunity to speak with David Eisner, co-artistic director of the Harold Green Jewish Theatre in Toronto about the company's participation in this year's SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAELI CULTURE, currently taking place in Toronto, and about some other upcoming work at the theatre.
This Sunday, March 8, the company presents a reading of of APPLES FROM THE DESERT , by Savyon Liebrecht. APPLES... won the 2006 Israel Best Play Award. Liebrecht was born in Munich to Holocaust survivor parents who immigrated to Israel. The play is an adaptation of her own short story.
Rivka is the 18 year old daughter of a controlling father and a subservient mother. Her father wants to marry Rivka off to an older man, a widower with children. Rivka's single aunt thinks this is a bad idea, and so does Rivka, who has her own ideas about how, and with whom, she wants to spend her future. She's met secular Doobie who want to live on a kibbutz.
I spoke with Eisner about his choice of play for the festival, earlier this week.
Eisner: "It's the second year we have participated in the festival. Avery (Saltzman, the company's co-artistic director) and I chose this script because, while it is set in Israel, in a religious Sephardic home, the play speaks to universal themes of love and family. Liebrecht casts a critical gaze on he meaning of family, and asks the question, "what do children learn from their parents?"
S&G: "Not always what they intend. She certainly learned what kind of marriage she didn't want."
Eisner, " Yes. I liked the range of family dynamics the play presented: between the husband and wife, between sisters, between Rivka and her parents, separately and together."
S&G: "And it's a love story; and a very sweet one, with a young woman who is determined to choose her mate on her own terms."
Eisner: "Yes, an Israeli love story, with universal themes of love and reconciliation, which was perfect for the festival."
S&G: "You've got a great cast for this reading: Sarah Dodds, Avery Saltzman, Shelia McCarthy..."
Eisner: "Shelia and Avery are also in our upcoming production, THEREFORE CHOOSE LIFE with Jake Epstein from DeGrassi. We're really excited, because it will be our first production in the newly renovated 300 seat Greenwin Theatre at the Toronto Centre for the Arts."
S&G: " So this is not only a reading of a well-regarded script, it's a sample of what the company has in store for the rest of the season?"
Eisner: "Exactly. We are in our eighth season. People seem to enjoy what we're doing. We have 2100 subscribers - but we'd always love more!"
S&G: "So APPLES... is a chance for prospective subscribers to get a free sample of what HAROLD GREEN does?"
Eisner: "Exactly! We'll be announcing the playbill for our 9th season at the end of March. Say tuned!"
Free theatre on a Sunday afternoon: what more could you ask for?
APPLES FROM THE DESERT will receive a free public reading at the GALLERY LOUNGE of the TORONTO CENTRE for the ARTS, 5040 Yonge Street, as part of SPOTLIGHT ON ISRAELI CULTURE on Sunday, March 8th at 2:00 pm. Seating is limited and reservations are required. Call (416) 932 9995 to reserve a seat.
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