Aletheia - An Outstanding Performance (and Well-Written Too!)

The title of this play means truth in Latin. Written and performed by Sara Vickruck, the truth is that I thought this was an extraordinary creative work by a young artist. Vickruck trained at Grant MacEwan in Edmonton, AB which is where this play was premiered last summer at the Edmonton Fringe to excellent reviews. The play is a collection of monologues featuring very different characters and their daily heroics. Each one has a story to tell and needs their voice to be heard.

In a series of dramatic monologues, we meet seven individuals who reach crossroads in their own lives. We meet a care-giver with immense faith and a secret to hide. We meet a wife making a difficult choice. We meet a son who believes he is not a hero. We meet a nun called to serve. We meet a mother in great pain. We meet a prisoner who breaks free of her guilt. We meet a child full of joy. (Yeah, it all sounds serious... and well, it kinda is!)

Scott Swan directs this play. There is one chair onstage and one prop ( a white rag). It features two original songs by its writer / performer Sara Vickruck which are used to open and close the show. As written in the Director's Notes: "The challenges of a play like this for the actor is that there is absolutely no place to hide." Nor can the audience members hide from the raw emotion and the compelling stories told on the small stage of Studio 16. 

Upon reflection, I wanted more of the stories to tie together (two of them are directly linked). It would be a true challenge for the playwright to rewrite this play (or expand it) with that in mind. As the script is currently written, I would have possibly welcomed more actors onstage and let different individuals interpret the different characters (not everyone will agree with this idea, I'm quite sure). 

I realize that there are a number of excellent one-person shows at the Fringe Festival this year. I would urge you to consider making time for this one. You won't regret it.