FRIDAY, January 20
Eel Critic
UTSC Drama Society
Rating: VVV
The director’s notes for Eel Critic read, in part: “Let us give you something; open up and relax,” suggesting this work is to be absorbed. If this was the intent, Eel Critic deserves kudos.
The actors were only an extension of a larger statement about the dimensions of creativity: its origins, processes, and limitations. In traversing this prohibitive intellectual terrain, the director used all available means: video projections (swinging camera angles); voice-overs (in at least three tones); actors shouting in an existential language; and a pulsing electronic soundscape (performed live by Dan Moore, offstage). Instead of the simultaneous sound, motion, and physical presence an actor naturally gives off, each element made use of a different medium in Eel Critic.
This compounded the challenge of timing and sequencing the director and playwright faced, and in the end I found the piece difficult to continuously process as a narrative. I could only take in parts of the play without having to take a bit of a rest during each scene in order to enjoy what was next. For all its fantastic technical merits, Eel Critic ultimately added up to less than the sum of its parts.-AC
Created Delusions
Trinity College Drama Society
Rating: VVv
Created Delusions fell just short of engaging. The plot has magnificent potential, though: a girl’s imaginary friends mutiny when her life turns interesting and she no longer has time for them. Its actors did a superb job with the script’s terse dialogue that suggested just how deeply aware the characters are of one another.
That was smothered by the density of the narrative, however: a story of imaginary characters, encased in the larger story of a girl, within the larger story of a voice-over narrative that transcends the imaginary and real; all in the super-context of a play that frequently uses flashbacks-jumbling its narrative structure and making things awfully hard to follow.
As a direct result, I had trouble getting close to the characters. This was partyly due to time constraints beyond the playwright’s control (the plot required several scenes, and the one-hour limit for plays in the festival meant that most of the scenes ended too quickly). The jumpy moment-to-moment direction prevented the audience from sensing any onstage momentum-I can’t even say the climax fell short of what I anticipated, because the sequence of events didn’t build up in my mind to justify its culmination.
This is no fault of the actors, but rather suggests that the playwright and director were not working in tandem to create a balance for this production.-AC
Paper Trails
Erindale Drama Club
Rating: VVVVv
Paper Trails is an exemplary piece of intelligent theatre. At a basic level, its smarts are likable because the stories (six monologues on objects lost in a fire) are elemental; they require no more knowledge than what is presented. The language of these monologues had a wonderful immediacy in addition to narrative momentum.
Moreover, the writing showcased a component critical to any good style: knowing just when to stop. There were enough pauses and consistent patterns of speech-all speakers told their story differently (one character tells of an eclectic list of objects in the ‘ex-boyfriend box;’ another speaks in occasionally measured lines about her uncle Brian)-that made you really think about what each character had to say.
The collective effect of these short stories culminated in a remarkable climax-I walked away with a fresh and deep appreciation of a truism I thought I understood: people exist in us after they are physically gone. The majesty of Paper Trails comes from the mastery of style that allows any message, new or traditional, to resonate with the audience.-AC
SATURDAY, January 22
Horizontigo
Hart House Drama Society
Rating: VVVv
The world of Horizontigo is a dizzying one of relationship problems, media frenzy, communication breakdown, and blurred boundaries between truth and show. It is also, writer John Walker suggests in this bitingly successful satire, our world. Horizontigo worked on many levels, thanks to the creativity of director Chris Saunders, who cleverly used various blocking techniques to manipulate setting and chronology.
The ensemble was solid overall, with Blain Watters as deadbeat yuppie Frankie and Spencer Evoy as suburban slacker Roddy delivering particularly strong comic performances. Prattling girlfriend Kat Ward was effective, though her performance seemed forced at times. Media bulldog Coleen MacPherson sassed her way through one unabashedly intrusive entrance after another, with cameraman John Bertao a study in focus by her side.
Lulls in the pacing caused the production to lose focus at times, but Horizontigo ultimately worked because of its outlandish script and its extreme look at issues we confront in our everyday lives, from media sensationalism to OSAP fraud.-JPA
Afterimage
Drumroll Thunder Pause
Rating: VVVV
An absolutely riveting drama, Afterimage tells the tale of an early ’90s rock’n’roll family crushed by the murder of lead singer and mother Kate Bishop. The story is revealed in a series of celebrity interview-style monologues that explore the motivation and impact of the crime.
Monologues were fitting for this production, giving the actors time to present Maureen Gualtieri’s superbly written streams of consciousness in powerfully human, scaled-down performances. The painfully honest stories compelled audiences to get emotionally involved and truly care about what was happening. Amongst a strong group, Anthony Furey stood out as the grieving husband Alastair, both for his disarmingly natural delivery and the intense emotional force he brought to the role. An interview with the spirited young Kate, portrayed with youthful energy and endearing maturity by Claire Pacheco, evoked more sympathy for the recovering family.
One puzzlingly unfortunate aspect of the performance was that some of the actors’ voices didn’t always carry to the back of the theatre. Though the script at times called for an understated delivery, director Gualtrieri should have done more to ensure that all of the lines reached every audience member, as this captivating story deserved to be heard by all.-JPA
