Review. Inner Elder by Michelle Thrush @ Nightwood & Native Earth

My cheeks hurt. Michelle Thrush shares her beautiful, sad, funny, wonderful personal story in a lovely, winding way. While there are moments of tension, and beats of the story that hearken back to one another, it would be challenging to describe it as “dramatic” in the usual sense of the word…and that’s all for the better. Thrush shows us women of many ages and experiences, from the plucky young girl who “raises” her parents, to the hilarious elder who leads a dance party. Each character is unique physically and it is pure delight to watch Thrush transform from one character to the next. The script was filled with pop culture references spanning a lifetime, with a distinct commentary on the bodies we see and hear from, and whose stories are typically told.

The staging used the space beautifully, similarly transforming seamlessly to create multiple spaces.

Honestly, I don’t even know what else to say. It was just wonderful. Go see it.

review. Blood + Soil by Rouvan Silogix - Theatre ARTaud @ TPM Backspace

Theatre ARTaud present an ambitious new work, straddling political commentary and surrealism (which, if we’re honest, is that political commentary nowadays?). The new play, Blood + Soil, begins with the chorus as the audience enter, interacting and tempting the audience, while a devil-like character lurks. As we move in to the play, we’re presented with a parable about a small city in Canada who choose to secede, only to repeat the mistakes of the past in their own implementation and exertion of power and ownership.

I had mixed reactions to the piece. On one hand, I adored the clever playfulness of the chorus, and the intelligent commentary on current affairs as told through the parable. There were some very enjoyable performances, notably the riveting Amaka Umeh who plays Snowball, one of the lead revolutionaries. Additionally, the ongoing live accompaniment from Ivana Popovic served to create wonderful tension in the live performance.

On the other hand, I found the overall style of the production to be abrasive; there were a lot of scenes shouted, and although alienation is one of the basic tenets of Artaud’s work and much surrealist theatre, in a story-based performance such as this, I don’t think this was the specific alienation they were looking to achieve.

On the whole, I think the script could have used some tightening; there were a number of interesting and insightful observations created through the physical and verbal language of the performance, including some really stunning (and at times, shocking) imagery. Yet It left me with the feeling that it didn’t quite achieve its own goals.

Definitely a production that will challenge you intellectually in ways unlike what you will find from a lot of other performance in the city, so worth checking out if you’re looking for that stimulation.

review. The Chemical Valley Project - Broadleaf Theatre @ Theatre Passe Muraille

This is a late-arriving blog post, with my regrets. I caught a Saturday matinee of The Chemical Valley Project the other week; I was immediately intrigued by the welcoming nature of the space, with the lead actor speaking to each audience member as they entered, and inviting them on to the performance space to look at additional photos from the research on the project. If one had come to the show without a lot of context (as my two friends had) this would have been a touch confusing, but also intriguing. Certainly, though, it set a really great tone for the afternoon and the information and experience we were about to share.

The play focuses on the research journey of one actor/creator as he explored information relating to The Chemical Valley in the Sarnia region, and particularly in reference to two first nations people who supported and guided his journey. The script held a lot of information, which could very well have been overwhelming, however on the whole it was not. The staging and use of video to hear the actual voices of the indigenous guides was unique, and useful in terms of ensuring that it wasn’t someone else appropriating their story and experience. All of that said, for me the script & production felt a bit disjointed; almost like there were too many topics, as the manner in which they were organized left me feeling like there were a lot of starting points that weren’t always clearly connected to one another. What was the story this was ultimately trying to tell?

That isn’t to say I didn’t enjoy it; the visual aspects were really beautiful and the use of the space was inventive. My bigger qualm was with the style of the performance - after setting up a beautiful, relaxed, non-performative style in the pre-show, the performance itself felt forced and ultimately did a disservice to the material, for me. I simply wanted the actor to exist in the space, with the aid of some clever staging (seriously, the use of scale was magnificent), to share this journey with me. It didn’t need anything else.

All that said, I definitely recommend seeing it if it has a re-mount.

review. The Shimmering Verge by Molly Peacock

I always like the adventure of finding a show at a place I am not familiar with. You open the door, and immediately are immersed in a new world. Director Karthy Chin creates a warm and enveloping space, with interesting positioning and intrigue in the objects, where we first are greeted with a poetry reading. Each night features a reading from a different local poet, which made for a unique positioning of the play that follows. It may, in part, have been due to the skill and engagement of the reader (I saw the divine Anne Michaels) but the reading, with the words just falling through the air, without accoutrement was thrilling and emotional.

The play itself was performed with dexterity by Madeleine Brown, in that delightful set, and accompanied by sound design from electronic musician Laura Dickens. For me, although the script was interesting and the performance highly enjoyable, the production felt crowded. While I enjoyed the light elements and sound elements, at times it felt like there were too many things going on at once that it stifled the air for the poetry to breathe on its own. Heightened text is always a challenge, and for my taste, I prefer to give it more space. That said, it was an engaging production, and highly enjoyable to take in. I definitely recommend checking out this ambitious work by a young company for the quality of the work and performance. They have 4 more shows between April 11 and April 13.