The Sputniks - Good intentions

The Sputniks is about a family of Soviet Jews who leave the Soviet Union for Austria and Canada, and find a greater tragedy along the way than the one they left behind.

The solo performer, Zasko is working with the right material - in other words the material that is unique to her.  There is a lot of potential in it, only some of which is realized.  Some moments do allow a glimpse of a totally different world from Vancouver.  Her brief depiction of the Soviet education system is interesting for anyone with even a passing interest in history - and my interest is more than passing, so I loved her young girl enthusiastically reciting the names and capitals of all the Soviet Republics.  The material Zasko has chosen creates one of the problems, though, as she doesn't carry it through successfully all the way to the end. In fact, the plot point on which the ending turns has very little to do with the starting material.  I can't say what it is or I'll ruin the play for you, but this plot point could happen in any dozen of plays that had nothing whatsoever to do with intellectuals fleeing the Soviet Union with their child. Sure, a good story is a good story anywhere, but the play spends so much time setting up the Soviet-specific context that the ending felt unattached to the rest of the work as a result.

I see by the comments on Plank that the ending of the play moved at least one audience member to tears, and Zasko was clearly trying to evoke an emotional response in her audience, by creating both a sense of connection to her characters and a realization of loss. I didn't always have enough opportunity to achieve this connection, however.  When the daughter announces directly to the audience that her father was forced to join the Communist Party in order to escape suspicion of disloyalty to the state, she says so with a great deal of outrage.  This is a compromise of his principles, for sure, but millions of people had to make compromises in order to survive in the Soviet Union, and joining the Party was one of the most common.  Many compromises were worse: like subverting their artistic freedom to a glorification of party themes, or showing no outward signs of emotion as family members were killed in the Purges.  We don't know enough about the Father and his goals and dreams in this play, to be able to understand why this particular compromise is particularly damaging to him. Later, when the Mother insists on leaving the Soviet Union, it isn't clear why she is so desperate to leave now, or why we might want to sympathize with her.   The possiblity of a greater connection with these people has been missed, partly because the script emphasizes short vignettes ranging over a long time span, rather than more sustained scenes.

My connection to these characters was also hampered by Zasko's acting, which wasn't strong enough to carry the play.  Although her goal appears to be a very naturalistic stage world, she has chosen very codified physical stances and gestures to represent each character.  It's no mistake, and she has worked hard at it, but the result is less powerful than she needs.  Her young girl character remains relatively unchanged as the years go by, and not familiar enough compared to other girls we all may know, with a very unlikely physical language.  The other characters fare no better.  She introduces her parents abruptly at the start. This is my father: bend knees, bend forward at the waist, spread open the arms and drop the head. This is my mother: straighten spine, straighten head, clasp hands in front of chest.  As a short-hand for character, it doesn't work in the stage world she has created.

The technique fails Zasko most in a scene in which the Father and Mother have their first date.  The mother is talking about a story she is trying to write.  The sound cue drowns her out, thus stopping us from hearing more interesting things she might have to say, and instead we see her miming a conversation.  Zazko's upper body is intensely animated in this sequence - her hands fly everywhere, her head is constantly turning, her torso twists to and fro - but her feet and legs remain fiercely unmoving.  Nobody moves like this, except possibly a marionette operated by a manic puppet master who has cut the strings to the bottom half of the puppet's body.  As in this scene, Zasko performs the whole play without props or sets of any kind, and the constant miming of daily activities is a distraction because the movements aren't instinctual enough for us to know what they are immediately, without having to think about what she might be trying to convey through them.  Movement that is too distracting creates disengagement.

I have to say that Zasko tried honestly, and worked hard, and I'm thrilled that she did. That could sound patronizing, but I don't mean it to.  I was relieved to see someone take on good material and try to do something ambitious with it.  The second I walked into the theatre that night (it was the gym at False Creek, so I wasn't expecting this), I smelled something in the air. It was unmistakeably the smell of real theatre.   As the house music faded down in perfect timing with the lights, I knew someone had taken great care with this piece. And I was right. But it still needs work.

Produced by Ko-Peeka Jo-Sia, from Montreal. A solo show by Elison Zasko. Directed by Jonno Katz.

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