Olya the Child -- Delivers Much More Than You Might Expect

The program description for Olya the Child is brief. The venue is a parkade and I knew that meant uncomfortable chairs. The show is only 35 minutes. Not that one chooses art by the cost per minute but... 

So, Thursday night, I dashed from the Waterfront where I had the pleasure of seeing “Bear Dreams” and managed to slip in just in time to get one of the last two seats. 

I do like attending site-specific shows at the Fringe – I've seen some amazing ones (Greenland, Eidola and Felon come to mind) and others that I won't name.

Playwright (and co-artistic director) Lauren Kresowaty was also seeing the show for the first time. She told me over Facebook that she was impressed with how the director (Aliya Griffin) and the actors had added staging to her script.  I absolutely agree. One of the most enchanting parts was watching the three unnamed orphans (Jenn Edwards, Rachelle Miguel and Victor Armando Ayala) interact with each other. Even before the start of the play, they are huddled as a “troika” on stage in character. 

Throughout the play, the three are continually in character adding to the visual experience without distracting from the key action on stage. The parkade was overall used very well: characters “off-stage” added to the richness of the experience. In a parkade there is no “off-stage”. 
Troika Collective's website says they want to present Eastern European history and culture with universal themes and this one definitely does that. At base for me, it's about our human desire to love and be loved and the obstacles that get in the way of that simple need. 

Director and co-founder of Troika Collective, Aliya Griffin, did a remarkable job of having the characters speak their lines, especially when they are saying aloud what's in Olya's head. Less successful for me was Deborah Johnson (Jalen Saip), the adoptive mother's, speeches that were delivered from the back of the audience or while walking around. In the only dialogue we hear between Deborah and her husband Robert (Victor Armando Ayala) what was an intense and intimate conversation lost some of its power because I had to turn around. Usually the noise from the fans added to the texture of the play, but in these moments it made it more difficult to hear.

Jessica Hood as Olya Kadnikova is consistently believable portraying the ambivalence of the 10-year old whose heart is in Orphanage #4 although reason (and other characters) tell her that she should be grateful for her nice room in Canada and new family. 

I noticed Colin Thomas, theatre critic for the Georgia Straight, in the front row with note pad in hand. I wondered if the actors found that unnerving. To me, he looked quite engaged and even smiled now and again. His review can be found at http://www.straight.com/user/116.